The Negros Occidental provincial government is hiring 190 farmers as job order workers to help the province achieve rice self-sufficiency in about two years.
The farmers from various associations will be trained in producing certified seeds, farm mechanization, improved planting, and on post-harvest work to boost rice production, Diaz said.
The provincial government’s Shared Services Facility behind the Negros Food Terminal at the North Capitol Road in Bacolod City will also be operational soon, he said.
The facility will process products of people’s organizations and non-government organizations who cannot afford to do so to add value and increase their earnings, Diaz said.
It will also increase the shelf life of their products for sale to the public, he added.
They are now in the process of calibrating the food processing machines at the facility, he said.
Among the first products they have produced are tinapa (smoked fish) and tomato sauce, he said.
“Hopefully we will soon be producing Abanse Negrense products for additional food sufficiency,” Diaz said.*