Wednesday, October 01, 2008 Gov't agencies converge to discuss rural dev't
THREE government agencies joined forces to realize goal of creating new lands for agribusiness development in the countryside.
The Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Environment and Natural Resource (DENR), and Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) converged in Davao City to consolidate data and information on potential areas in Regions 11, 12, and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm).
DA-Southern Mindanao regional director Roger C. Chio said these three agencies complemented its limited income and resources to create laudable and lasting impact to its constituents.
"With this convergence, we hope that we can utilize our former idle land into a more productive land and create jobs in the countryside," Chio said.
He said these three agencies conducted various activities particularly in the identification and listing of available lands and the appropriate projects that can be implemented to make those identified lands productive.
He added that although most of these areas are idle and marginal lands, there are lots of potential crops that can be planted such as rubber, vegetables, fruit trees, and the fast becoming popular biofuel feedstocks such as cassava, sugarcane, jathropa, and sweet sorghum.
Melanie Provido, regional HVCC coordinator, reported that a total of 400 hectares has been developed under the "kasagingan sa Kanyogan" project implemented in Davao del Norte and 3,000 hectares in Davao Oriental.
For the cacao development program, a total of 10 hectares have been implemented in Davao City and another 10 hectares in Davao del Sur.
She added that under this convergence program DA has extended alternative Livelihood in rural areas of the provinces such as 40 heads of goat and three heads of carabao dispersal, distributed assorted veterinary drugs and biologics; provided technical assistance; distributed forage grass seeds; and also construction of one unit multi-purpose drying pavement
DAR, on the other hand, conducted training on Institutional Development, to Buffamco Coop members.
Moreover, DENR conducted reforestation and parcelliary survey and mapping to about 40 hectares; planted 2,150 of assorted fruit trees such as Durian, Lanzones, Mangosteen and Rambutan; planted 23,908 pieces assorted forest trees such as Molave, Lauan, Narra among others; conducted comprehensive site development such as Brushing, holing, replanting & weeding to 40 hectares of denuded forest land.
