Negros Occidental Arbos equipped on organic rice production

THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Negros Occidental – North, through its Program Beneficiaries Development Division (PBDD), has conducted a series of orientations on organic rice production to five agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (Arbos) in Cities of San Carlos and Cadiz, and Murcia town.

The orientation was conducted through the agency’s Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support (CRFPS) project under its major crop-based sub-project.

A total of 300 farmers attended the orientation held at different sites recently.

Of the participants, 59 farmers are from Sta. Rosa Small Farmers Association in Barangay Sta. Rosa, Murcia; 65 from A&G Esteban Farmers Association in Barangay San Miguel, Murcia; 70 from RICEBIS Negros Agrarian Reform Cooperative in Barangay Damsite, Murcia; 50 from Barangay Quezon Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association in Barangay Quezon, San Carlos City; and 56 from Sicaba Farmers Association in Barangay Caduhaan, Cadiz City.

During the orientation, Agrarian Reform Program Officer 1 Kenneth Fernando explained the core aim of the project.

Fernando told farmers that the project is geared towards helping them to produce quality farm products despite the adverse effects of climate change.

“May this project be given importance and used as a tool for your community to have food safety and security, especially now that we are facing a pandemic that has affected our economies,” he added.

Agrarian Reform Program Technologists (ARPTs) Deljan Tizon, Jayvee Duran and John Michael Bendanillo, who assisted in drafting the policies for effective implementation of the project, were also present at the orientation.

DAR-Negros Occidental I said the activity is one of the initial steps in the implementation of the project. It will be followed by a series of training needed to capacitate the farmers on rice production.

Also, there will be a provision of farm machinery and equipment such as hand tractor, floating tiller, mechanical rice thresher, rice transplanter, water pump irrigation system, rice seeder and collapsible dryer.

The agency said CRFPS project is geared towards building resiliency for agrarian reform communities with an emphasis on enhancing and sustaining the agricultural productivity of farmer organizations as adaptation measures towards farming mechanization.

“This will also support the organizations in increasing their farm production, yield better income, and to reform their lives,” it added.

Moreover, the Program Beneficiaries Development is a support service delivery component of the DAR that aims to capacitate ARBs and provide them access to salient support services for the productivity of their lands and improvement of their lives.