The COVID – 19 Pandemic not just affects people, it also depletes government resources. Its economic implications are far more catastrophic than the one predicted. It has taken its toll among those already struggling in needs with hunger, health, and above all poverty. Those households that are not prepared and have not taken necessary actions will be the hardest to cope with the impact of the diseases.
Travel restrictions imposed disrupt workforces, transportation, and the supply chain. The pandemic exposed most LGU’s who are too dependent on other regions for their food supplies. It takes two months to be able to acquire the much-needed relief effort among its constituents with the prices of commodities going up due to transport restrictions.
To provide sufficient food supply, PGMC partners with the provincial government of Surigao del Norte and related line agencies for a whopping 12 million peso food security projects. The funds were generated by re-aligning 3.03 million pesos of its SDMP Fund and 9.03 million pesos from EPEP fund for the current calendar year. It is expected to benefit 12 barangays in Claver and 6 municipalities within Surigao del Norte.
The project is expected to benefit 56 households for Egg machine, 116 farmers/groups for vegetable production, and 16 fisher folks/organizations for aquaculture. The project’s successful launching in barangay Bagakay, Claver demonstrates the commitment of various government line agencies whose role is well defined in the MOA. The project is not a dole-out initiative but rather to provide food security for all beneficiaries and at the same time to help augment their source income.
PGMC is already done with site preparations and identifying project recipients in the Claver area and is only waiting for the materials for the implementations. Technical aspects will be provided by personnel from the DA and the BFAR. The projects are envisioned to be sustainable in the long run.
