A total of 161 corn and coconut farmers from Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte received the cash and food assistance under the Cash and Food Subsidy to Marginal Farmers and Fisherfolk (CFSMFF) Program, held at Cabadbaran City Gymnasium, December 15.
Breaking down, 41 farmers were present under the Corn Program, 112 farmers under the BFAR, and 8 farmers under the PCA.
For this leg, food subsidy was provided by the DA- Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD) recognized partners from Sto. Nino Multi-Purpose Cooperative for the 25-kilogram sack of Rice, Ocampo Farm for the Eggs, and One-Stop Convenience for the dressed chicken.
AMAD Chief Lyn Pareñas said that food providers of the CFSMFF program are those who are already Kadiwa suppliers.
“Since March until today, the Department of Agriculture through the AMAD, has a program called Kadiwa-on-wheels. These associations and cooperatives produced crops, eggs, and other commodities in which their local produce are sold directly to the consumers near their respective vicinities. This is the reason why we have the list of suppliers arranged to facilitate and supply this program,” Pareñas said.
Cabadbaran City Vice Mayor Rey Jamboy and Committee Chair on Agriculture City Councilor Celson Sanchez also graced the distribution of assistance.
Moreover, farmers with one hectare and below land ownership and registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) are eligible for the scheme. They should also be located in the 5th to 6th income class cities and 4th to 6th income class municipalities. Qualified beneficiaries should also not be covered by any other social amelioration programs from the government.
Helen Mahumot Martinez, member of Cabadbaran City Swine Raiser’s Association who also engaged into diversified farming expressed her sentiments as one of the beneficiaries of CFSMFF program.
“I’m thankful that I was chosen to be part of this program. This will at least help my family especially with our everyday consumables. Knowing the challenges that the agriculture sector faced today, from pandemic to typhoons, this will be a great help,” she said.
Furthermore, for the province of Agusan del Sur, distribution of assistance is on-going for the whole duration of January in selected municipalities. For the province of Surigao del Sur, distribution of cash and food aid began last January 13 in Bislig City.
Moreover, in the province of Agusan del Norte, a food distribution is set to happen in the municipality of Kitcharao on January 21, 2020.
For the province of Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands, schedule of distribution has yet to be finalized as validation for the list of beneficiaries and suppliers is underway.
Together with the Department of Agriculture – Caraga through the Corn Program, implementing agencies from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) were also present to distribute the assistance to their constituent. # # # (DA-RFO XIII, RAFIS)
DA aims for strengthened prioritization of provincial commodities
After a successful implementation in Ilocos Norte last year, the Department of Agriculture 12 is now ready to implement in Region 12 provinces the Province-led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Systems (PAFES).
Regional Executive Director Arlan Mangelen noted that Secretary William Dar wants that PAFES will be implemented nationwide so that every provinces will have a specific commodities to be showcased.
“Through PAFES, every province will have the effective prioritization of commodities… it is based on their provincial commodity investment plans (PCIP),” Mangelen added.
PAFES aims to integrate DA operations and strengthen research-extension-farmer/ fisherfolk linkages in the province to spearhead agricultural modernization and industrialization, enhance rural livelihoods through the massive utilization of science-based innovations, and catalyze the establishment of robust agro-based enterprises.
The program will also enhance the agriculture development plans of pilot province gu
ided by the DA’s Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization and Industrialization Plan (AgMIP) and the PCIP.
It also looks forward to map out and vigorously implement Collaborative Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Programs (CAFEPs) in each province, harmonizing national, regional, and local priorities.
The PCIP, which will be utilized for the PAFES implementation, is a plan that rationalizes interventions in the commodity value chains. It also serves as the basis for identifying necessary infrastructure and enterprise development subprojects that can be funded by Philippine Rural Development Project with counterparts from the local government units (LGUs).
It is now mainstreamed to further strengthen prioritization and project implementation at the level of the DA.
Meanwhile, Director Mangelen stressed out that the DA will start establishing PAFES through Partnership building and engagement.
The Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Offices (DA-RFO) and DA-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), working with the DA Technical Working Group for PAFES, shall link with and engage provincial LGUs, concerned DA bureaus and attached agencies/corporations.
“We will also link and involve the State Universities and Colleges, including the private sector and civil society organizations (CSOs) in the province,” Director Mangelen added.
There will also be a consultation with the local chief executives.
Director Mangelen explained that building from the stakeholder consultations result, the DA-RFOs and DA-BFAR ROs will brief the League of Municipalities (LMP) members in the province and catalyze partnerships between DA and PLGUs in establishing PAFES.
On the other hand, the DA 12 chief also suggested that the program should include highly urbanized independent cities like General Santos City in the program. # # # ( Carl Ulysses Aguillon, DA-RFO XII, RAFIS)
200M FMR Project links four upland barangays of Laua-an
The difficulties of bringing farm products from the hinterlands of Laua-an, Antique were one of the causes why there are idle lands and farmers plant few commodities said Mayor Christopher Baladjay during the inauguration and turn-over of the 3.44 kilometers farm to market roads (FMR) amounting to 200 million pesos.
“I am very thankful to the Department of Agriculture and to Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda that these three sections of FMR were realized. Now people from the barangays of Magyapo, Jinalinan, Leon and Maybunga could bring their produce to the Poblacion market with ease, convenience and less travel time.” added Mayor Baladjay.
He also stressed that the road not only stimulate development in the agriculture sector but also in the health and peace and order sectors wherein the local government unit could immediately respond on emergencies, natural calamities and insurgencies.
Meanwhile, Director Remelyn R. Recoter of DA-Western Visayas was optimistic that with the FRM farmers could expand their existing commodities other than sugarcane, abacca, peanut and rootcrops.
They can explore potentials of planting high value crops, fruit trees, Pakbet and Chopsuey vegetables that will suit to the market demands.
Recoter anticipated an increase in the economic activity among the 750 beneficiaries situated in the 1,450 hectares service area which could spur positive impact on the education of their children.
The department also turned over 1,332 bags of inorganic fertilizer and 500 bags hybrid rice seeds for the municipality of Laua-an as part of the rice resiliency project (RRP 2) intervention to rice farmers. # # # (JEEOgatis/DA-RFO VI, RAFIS)