THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Negros Occidental-North has provided a total of P430,000 worth of support services package to one of its assisted agrarian reform beneficiary organizations (Arbos) in Manapla town recently.
The recipient organization, Hacienda Sto. Niño United Farmworkers Association (HSUFWA), received the Small-Scale Duck Egg Production project under the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support (CRFPS) – Sustainable Livelihood Support (SLP) for disaster-affected areas.
It comprised 180 ready-to-lay ducks and 20 drakes, one unit egg incubator machine, one unit hand tractor, a series of capacity development training, and establishment of housing for ducks.
DAR-Western Visayas Regional Director Sheila Enciso, who led the turnover activity at Barangay Tortosa, said the support services are aimed at enabling the recipient-farmers to grow.
“With the government’s help, let us rethink and look for ways on how we can increase and grow the projects given and invested to us,” she added.
Assistant Regional Director Lucrecia Taberna, who was also present at the activity, told the organization that the DAR will keep on determining support services projects to continually improve the quality of lives of its farmer-beneficiaries.
“With the provision of this sustainable livelihood, your farming victories will be our indicators of the successes of our mandate,” she added.
HSUFWA is composed of 30 agrarian reform beneficiaries collectively managing the 45.5073-hectare land.
The property was formerly owned by ALM Group of Farms Inc. and was acquired by the government through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
DAR-Negros Occidental, in a statement, said the SLP is a sub-component of CRFPS under the department’s Program Beneficiaries Development Division (PBDD).
It aims to provide priority support for highly vulnerable areas or rehabilitation for disaster-affected agrarian reform areas and is pursued through the provision of support to develop alternate livelihood or rehabilitation of the existing livelihood that were affected by the impacts of climate change.
The implementation of the project is geared towards the goal of building resiliency for agrarian communities.
Specifically, the objective is to enhance and sustain the agricultural productivity of agrarian communities as an adaptation measure towards resiliency, it added.
“I am really happy even to the point of being emotional as I witnessed your association rose from the challenges and struggles you have encountered,” Officer-In-Charge Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Teresita Mabunay said in her message.
Mabunay told farmers that “your dedication and hard work are admirable and we will continue to support organizations with such projects to free farmers from the chains of poverty."
The DAR through the PBDD constitutes development and support services interventions by the provision of training programs, and construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities.
Access to basic social services is also included in this sector to ensure holistic support for the farmer-beneficiaries.
Also present at the activity were Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer Ma. Victoria C. Delgado, PBDD Officer-In-Charge Chief ARPO Rizalina Yuguing, Manapla Municipal Agriculture Officer Alejandro Malijoc, and officials of Barangay Tortosa, among others.
With Negros Occidental still under the modified general community quarantine, the turnover ceremony complied with the minimum health protocols set by authorities.