The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 9 (DSWD 9) on Wednesday started distributing rice to 466 farmers in Zamboanga City who have been severely affected by El Niño.

DSWD thru the Crisis Intervention Unit conducted rice distribution in the barangays of Bunguiao (238 farmers), Sangali (49 farmers) and Dulian (179 farmers) as part of the department’s intervention, the Food-for-Work program (FFW).

Each of the beneficiaries received 25 kilos of rice in exchange for ten (10) days of work doing community projects, such as repair and reconstruction of community facilities, clean-up and garbage collection, among others.

“Nagpapasalamat talaga ako sa DSWD dahil napakalaking tulong nitong bigas sa amin. Wala kaming ani at income mula nung nagsimula ang El Niño. (We are grateful to the DSWD because this sack of rice is really a big help to us since we did not have any harvest and income since the drought started.)” says Rodora Santos upon receiving the temporary aid.

A total of 1.5 million pesos is allotted for the Food-for-Work program that will benefit around 2,000 farmers in the city.

The agency is set to complete distribution of rice within this month as augmentation assistance to drought-stricken families. Beneficiaries of the said program were identified by the Office of the City Agriculture (OCA).

Meanwhile, the other 3,000 identified farmers in the city will be recipients of the Cash-for-Work program.