CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness and Marketing Kristine Y. Evangelista of DA led the turnover of the certificate of commitment for the P1 million enhanced Kadiwa grant to the Canitoan Farmer’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CAFAMCO).
On Thursday, ASec Evangelista together with DA-10 Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado and Regional Technical Director for Operations Carlota S. Madriaga of the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10) and CdeO City Mayor Oscar S. Moreno handed over said certificate to CAFAMCO thru its Chair Lucas W. Faborada.
Under the Enhanced Kadiwa Inclusive Food Supply Chain Program under the Agriculture Stimulus Package Bayanihan II, the cooperative will be granted with financial support for their working capital (P240,000), hauling vehicle (P670,000) and ancillary equipment (P90,000).
“CAFAMCO will have access of the Type A financial grant package under the enhanced Kadiwa to finance their value-adding activities as assemblers of farmers and fishers’ produce such as procurement, aggregation and pre-processing,” RED Collado explained, where said intervention will be lodged.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic where mobility of goods and people were limited, the Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita program continues to provide a beefed-up marketing scheme where producers are directly linked with the consuming public, making available food commodities at reasonable prices to consumers.
Since April last year, CAFAMCO has served as one of DA-10’s regular Kadiwa suppliers, participating in the different rolled out Kadiwa outlets by the agriculture department and the Agricultural Productivity Office of the city government of CdeO.
At the onset in the implementation of community quarantines, Faborada has conveyed relief, that despite the pandemic, they were still able to earn a living from farming thru the Kadiwa.
“The Program remains to aid farmers like us to survive during this health crisis. Primarily, our members were able to sell their products and earn decently,” he relayed.
He further went on pinning his hopes in scaling up their Kadiwa operations with the financial grant package under the enhanced Kadiwa.
“On behalf of our members, we are thankful to DA for conferring us with this assistance for it will greatly help us in our operations, especially on the transportation aspect,” Faborada added.
Aside from reaping their own harvests in barangay Canitoan, CAFAMCO also buys the produce of other farmers, among them from adjacent barangays, namely: Pagatpat, San Simon, Iponan and Baikingon.
“Through this intervention [financial grant], the Cooperative will be capacitated and become reliable food commodity suppliers to consumers to sustainably operate the Kadiwa stores,” Dir. Collado concluded. # # # (JLO / DA-RFO X)
Reaching out to the farthest, remotest barangays pays off
Bridging the gap between people in far–flung areas and government projects is one of the many goals of the Department of Agriculture as far as delivery of services to the countryside is concerned. By doing this, the agriculture department’s effort to support disadvantaged farmers strengthens the latter’s resolve to engage in livelihood through its various programs/projects. In Samar, DA–SAAD PPMSO Team tries its best to embody the agency’s goals and aspirations under the Egg Layer and Meat Production Projects.
Going to the area is a big challenge for the team because the recipient association is located 25 km. away from Poblacion Calbiga. It is considered the farthest, among the remotest barangays. To reach the place, the first 13 km. is accessed by motorcycle transport, locally known as habal–habal, and the remaining 12 km. is not yet passable by any vehicle, hence, one has to walk to get there.The Hindang Farmers Association of Barangay Hindang, Calbiga, Samar is one of the beneficiaries of this project. It received a total of 110 heads ready–to–lay native chicken on the 21st of October 2020. Prior to this, the association already received partial supplies of drugs, biologics, and 20 bags layer feeds.
The delivery of inputs was made possible with the assistance of the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist, through AT Ma. Irlyn S. Marabe, in coordination with the 46IB, 8ID Bravo Company, based in Brgy. Polangi, Calbiga, Samar, under the leadership of CO 1st Lieutenant Reyzander K. Ga and CMO Sgt. Reyjargon L. Soreño.
All efforts and hardship in going to Brgy. Hindang paid off with the warm reception of the association members. The team was told that the Department of Agriculture, through SAAD Program, is the very first government agency to provide assistance to the community, notwithstanding the distance and difficulty in reaching the place.
Like millions of Filipinos, the community has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. In Brgy. Hindang where most of the residents are subsistence farmers, staying at home and social distancing are not viable. They just have to keep on working, despite the danger, otherwise they would starve. In the rural and poor parts of the locality, many have taken a fatalistic approach to the pandemic because they consider the cure worse than the disease. Should the virus gain a foothold in the area, it could spread fast.
Similar to many other places in the Philippines, the repercussions of the health crisis are disastrous for most of the local population. Even before the crisis, poverty has been endemic since it is one of the areas hardly reached by government assistance.
Hence, seeing the eyes of the recipients gleaming with hope and joy was what made the project implementors persistent and dedicated, not only because it is a job to be done, but it is a commitment to reach out to those who, beyond doubt, need help and assistance from the government. Listening to them say that they are truly grateful and elated to know that they are not left behind and not denied access to government projects and initiatives was enough for the team to keep moving. It warmed everyone’s heart and lightened the workload. # # # (Jocelyn G. Torres / DA-RFO VIII, SAAD PPMSO–Samar)
Siquijor RRP II hybrid rice ready for harvest, inbred seeds for distribution
Some 108 hectares of rice fields planted with hybrid rice under the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Rice Resiliency Project II (RRP2) are ready for harvest by the end of March or within April, this year.
This was bared by DA-7 Agricultural Program Coordinating Officer (APCO) of Siquijor Gregolito Bunado.
Bunado said that 328 rice farmers received 108 bags of hybrid rice last year under the RRP II which they planted for this dry season cropping.
Bunado explained that Siquijor is not a rice producing province, however there are still rice farmers who are into rice production.
Of the 108 bags of hybrid rice, forty bags were distributed to Lazi, 33 bags to Maria, 15 bags to Siquijor, 10 bags to Larena, 7 bags to San Juan, and 3 bags to Enrique Villanueva, which were facilitated by their respective Municipal Agriculture Offices (MAO).
“As for the hybrid rice, we will be expecting harvest by the end of March to April. We will be doing crop cutting to get their estimated yield,” Bunado said.
These farmers also received some biological control (biocon) agents to include 5,500 cards of trichogramma and 58.5 kilos of Beauveria to help them effectively manage and control pests in their rice fields.
Aside from RRP II, Bunado also said that under the DA7’s regular rice program, some 98 bags of registered rice seeds were already distributed to 111 rice farmers ready for this wet season cropping to start in April or May.
He also said that 250 bags of hybrid seeds are ready for distribution with municipal allocation of 100 bags for Lazi, 80 bags for Maria, 35 bags for Siquijor, 17 bags for Larena, 10 bags for San Juan, and eight for Enrique Villanueva.
Bunado further said that the fertilizers allocated for the RRP II are to be distributed to the identified farmer-beneficiaries thru the e-voucher scheme. # # # (DA-RFO VII, RAFIS)