BFAR to give pandemic aid to fishermen in Ilocos region
SAN FERNANDO CITY—A total of 6,593 fishermen from the four provinces of the Ilocos region will receive cash and food subsidy from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
The aid is under the cash and food subsidy program for marginal farmers and fishermen, a nationwide program to help eligible beneficiaries in the agriculture and fishery sectors.
Rosario Segundina Gaelan, officer-in-charge of the BFAR Ilocos, said there are 4,684 beneficiaries from Pangasinan, 1,021 from Ilocos Sur, 611 in Ilocos Norte and 237 in La Union.
She said the program is funded under the Bayanihan 2 law and will apply to farmers and fishermen who were not included as beneficiaries of previous amelioration programs of other government agencies and whose incomes were all but wiped out by the pandemic.
Each beneficiary will receive P3,000 in cash and P2,000 worth of food, like rice, chicken, and eggs.
The food aid also aims to provide market support to local producers of rice and chicken and small and medium enterprises, she said.
