Leyte village gets solar dryer from US gov’t

TANAUAN, Leyte, Dec. 2 (PNA) – Prior to the construction of a solar dryer and grain warehouse in Sta. Elena village, this town, farmers like Arnel Dacuyan use vacant lots and basketball courts to dry grains.

“Now, that we already have the facility, rice farmers will no longer need to dry their palay (unhusked rice) anywhere and they also have safe warehouse to store their grains,” Dacuyan said.

Sta. Elena village, a rice producing community, is located about two kilometers from the national road of Tanauan-Dagami Road.

Indeed, Sta. Elena is the top rice producing area in the town with 8.5 tons harvest per hectare, higher than the total rice production of the town at 3.5 tons per hectare. This can be attributed to established irrigation system, allowing farmers to harvest rice twice a year.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded the construction of post-Yolanda Rebuild Project assistance.

The project costs USD57,356 and will benefit a total of 108 farmers, cultivating a more than 120 hectares of rice fields in the village.

Mayor Pelagio Tecson Jr. said that Sta. Elena residents are lucky to receive the project from the USAID. “Restoring livelihood is just as equal as restoring houses damaged by super typhoon Yolanda,” the mayor added.

The USAID also provided technical assistance to Sta. Elena farmers by teaching them new rice farming techniques.

Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla urged farmers to think of their future by forgetting what had happened during Yolanda.

Petilla also expressed gratitude to the USAID for helping farmers in the province in the form of provision of technical assistance, farm inputs and post harvest facilities aimed at raising output.

“With dryers, farmers will no longer dry their grain along roads, which is prohibited by the Department of Public Works and Highways,” the governor added.

USAID Deputy Mission Director Clay Epperson said that their donation in Sta. Elena is part of the 30 agri-fishery support facilities for areas affected by the 2013 catastrophe. (PNA)
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