BACOLOD CITY: To boost its rice sufficiency program, the Negros Occidental provincial government will hire 190 farmers from various farmers organizations as job-order workers to help the province achieve rice self-sufficiency in about two years, according to Rayfrando Diaz, provincial administrator. The workers will be trained on seed production and farm mechanization, among others, Diaz said. Meanwhile, he announced that the capitol's shared services facility behind the Negros Food Terminal in Bacolod City will be operational soon to process products of people's organizations and nongovernment organizations that cannot afford to do so to add value to their produce and increase their earnings. Among the first products that the organizations have produced are tinapa (smoked fish) and tomato sauce, Diaz said.
