Thursday, April 17, 2008 UN exec impressed by highland farmers
DOCTOR Yaya Olaniran, permanent representative of Nigeria to the Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development-United Nations (UN-Ifad), was all praises for the Cordillera farmers.
A practicing farmer himself and member of the Ifad Executive Board and Evaluation Committee from 17 countries who visited the Philippines last April 6-9, Olarinan said the region's highland farmers have what it takes to farm and care for their lands.
This visit, according to Doctor Heike Kuhn, executive director to Ifad and first counselor of the Germany Embassy, was designed "to allow us to see and possibly experience the wonderful reports of accomplishments on Ifad's projects in countries like the Philippines."
Kuhn revealed the reason for their visit in a speech she gave in behalf of her peers during the welcome program in Atok, Benguet attended by farmers and local municipal officials headed by Mayor Conception Balao and Governor Nestor Fongwan. Both officials later led the visitors on a "walk-through" of a farm-to-market road project in Bosleng, supported by the Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resources Management (Charm) Project.
Soft spoken and friendly, Olarinan was in deep thought when Fongwan, after his field briefing on the implementation of the Charm farm-to-market road project in Atok, Benguet, gave him the wireless microphone.
"Since our visit to the fields last Wednesday, I have been asked by my colleagues about my impressions as a farmer and an African, regarding our visit, the people and places that we have seen," Olarinan said.
"Like you have heard most of us on the way, I agree that coming here was one of the best experiences I have had as an official of Ifad. I saw your beautiful rice and vegetable terraces and had very meaningful and informative interactions with the local communities," he added.
Speaking about local farmers, Olarinan said it takes a special kind of farmer to construct and "farm those rice terraces under the given conditions." It speaks much about your farmers as "visionaries, determined, persistent and industrious."
Olarinan also noted how local rice farmers integrated the care of watersheds into their farming system that made the terraces sustainable for centuries.
Olarinan and the Ifad visitors participated in all the activities called for in their itinerary, which was prepared by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Ifad staff that brought them to Baguio City and remote destinations in Benguet and Mountain Province to evaluate the second phase of the Charm Project.
While in the area, they had meetings, interviews, consultations, socials, lunch and/or dinner with top government officials, non-government organizations, community elders, women, children and farmers.
