The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Foundation granted the farmers under the Rice Business Innovations System (RiceBIS) Program in San Carlos, Negros Occidental with P5.2 million to help them increase their income.
Hernan Samson, chair of the farmers’ organization, expressed his gratitude to BPI and Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), which houses the program.
“It’s a huge blessing for us to obtain a truck, rice mill, and this fund to procure palay for processing. [We’re grateful]!,” he said.
The initiative is part of the two-year “BPI Foundation Farm to Table in San Carlos, Negros Occidental: Enhancing Market Potential, Opportunities, Welfare, and Economic Resilience (EMPOWER) of RiceBIS Farmers” project.
Juvylyn Reniva, BPI Foundation associate director, said that this partnership with PhilRice is important to them as it aligns with the foundation’s aspiration, “Kasama lahat sa Pag-unlad.”
To ensure the farmer-partners’ self-reliance and the sustainability of their livelihoods, the funds will be allocated for procuring trucks, compact rice mill, threshers, certified seeds, and right amount of fertilizers.
Witnessed by agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., BPI officials including trustee Mary Catherine Elizabeth Santamaria and project manager Melanie Magbuhos awarded the symbolic cheque to PhilRice executive director John de Leon, deputy executive director for development Karen Elosia T. Barroga, and program lead Diadem Gonzales-Esmero in a recent scientific conference in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.
