THE Castellano Farmers’ Association (Cafa) at Barangay Castellano in Calatrava town has recently distributed 10 sacks of rice to its members in the bid to help them amid the ongoing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
Some 50 member-recipients received five kilograms of rice each from the agrarian reform beneficiaries organization (Arbo) assisted by Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
Cafa has a total of 36 member-agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) that manages the 94.9534-hectare land acquired under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp).
Its main crops are corn, root crops, banana and sugarcane.
The Arbo is also one of the recipients of the Rice Retailing Business, a project under the Convergence on Livelihood Assistance for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Project (Claap).
Claap is a collaboration of the DAR and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which aims to expand and increase farmers’ access to economic opportunities.
The DSWD has allocated and transferred to the DAR a total of P1 billion for the conduct and provision of social preparation, technical capacity building and capital assistance.
The purpose of which is for the establishment of livelihood and micro enterprise projects duly identified and chosen by the farmer-beneficiaries.
DAR-Negros Occidental North said amid the crisis, the association with meager resources understood the need of others and initiated to shell-out a certain amount of their cooperative’s income to help fellow farmers.
“Our farmers are also the unsung heroes as they work to deliver food straight to our tables during these difficult times,” it added.