Manang Imee’s Capitol Express brings hope to Ilocano farmers thru the ‘Paspas Dur-as Biag ti Away!’

The comeback of the Manang Imee’s Capitol Express, the roving one-stop shop of the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN), shone a ray of hope on the life of an Ilocano farming family in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte.

When Governor Imee R. Marcos brought the roving Cap Ex program to Barangay 23, Sta. Cecilia in San Nicolas, Mrs. Arcelie Lumboy, a resident of the said barangay, took the opportunity to avail of the vegetable seedlings distributed by staff of the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO).

The seedling distribution is a part of the ‘Paspas Dur-as Biag ti Away!’ (Rapid Development in the Rural Areas), a program of Manang Imee’s Capitol Express that aims to intensify efforts on agricultural development in Ilocos Norte launched last November 2015.

Provincial Agriculturist Norma Lagmay, said that the program aims to provide further agricultural support to Ilocano farmers including distribution of seeds, machineries and facilities.

Lumboy said that the seedlings she received were of great help to her family as she and her husband are struggling to finance the education of their three children, the eldest a freshman in college.

She said that her husband’s job as a carpenter is only part-time, but now both of them had found a new source of income in planting vegetable seedlings, thereby selling the crops afterwards.

During the Manang Imee’s Capitol Express in their barangay, Lumboy received seedlings of string beans, tomatoes, squash and bottle gourd, among others.

“Family effort is involved with the planting of the seedlings down to harvesting,” Lumboy added.

She explained that her children are the ones who sell the vegetable crops in their neighborhood, adding that “the profit from selling serves as their allowance during school days.”

Lumboy expressed her gratefulness to the provincial government especially to Governor Marcos for her deep concern to small farmers, saying: “Instead of buying our own seedlings, we can use the money saved to cover the additional necessities of my family.”

With the return of the Manang Imee’s Capitol Express last February 21, 2016, numerous agricultural communities in the province have been visited by Governor Marcos to aid farmers in their main problems and vital needs.

Earlier, Governor Marcos also distributed water pumps and backpack sprayers to local farmers during the Manang Imee’s Capitol Express in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte.—(John Michael Mugas, PGIN-CMO)