
Bureau of Corrections Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. states that in addition to serving as a program for the rehabilitation of persons deprived of liberty (PDL), RISE importantly aligns with their efforts to support the government’s food security and sufficiency campaign. (Photo courtesy of Gerald Ticke/Palawan News)
CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro (PIA) -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) represented by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), and its partner private companies signed a memorandum of agreement for the first agriculture hub under the Reformation Initiative for Sustainable Environment for Food Security (RISE) project at Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan on August 18.
The RISE program aims to enhance the productivity and relevance of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) in the prison. The 501-hectares of land of IPPF will be planted by the PDLs.
According to BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., this farm will serve as a program for the rehabilitation of PDLs, and in alignment with the government’s efforts to support the food security and sufficiency campaign.
“I want BuCor and the PDLs to be relevant and their lives to be sustainable. Relevant in a sense that they will in the future produce all the food that we need here, and kung may sobra pa kami meron tayong mga investors who will also help in food security,” said Catapang.
Moreover, DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said the food staples to be grown on-site include rice, corn, cashews and assorted vegetables.
"The way to achieve food security and zero hunger in the Philippines is to modernize our farming tools and processes and boost agricultural production,” Panganiban said in a statement.
“RISE agri-hubs will serve as important incubators of agricultural innovation and progress towards achieving the priority agriculture objectives of the President," Panganiban added. (GATS/PIA MIMAROPA)