QUEZON CITY -- Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Brother John R. Castriciones gave credit to DAR-Davao region for implementing the “Buhay sa Gulay” urban vegetable farming in their region to ensure food security and encourage people to farm even in urban areas.

Castriciones in his latest visit to the region led the first harvest in the vegetable garden inside the DAR regional office compound in Davao City and afterward visited the  20-hectare  urban farming project  “Buhay sa Gulay”, in Barangay Tagpore, Panabo City, Davao del Norte.

“If we do not love our lands and do not give it a chance to develop, we will surely encounter problems in our country and I am happy to be here in Tagpore, Panabo City, Davao del Norte because I saw the extent of your cultivated area." Castriciones said.

He stressed that the farmers in Davao are lucky and advised them not to go to Manila or other cities because they have a better life in the countryside because they could have all the fresh foods they want.

DAR-Davao del Norte Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Crisostomo N. Bernaldez said the “Buhay sa Gulay” project in United Landowners Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ULAMCO) became an avenue of resilience for the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

“It became their major come back after the Fusarium wilt (banana fungus) set back. Hope started to thrive in their darkest times as they began planting vegetables and they experienced a different kind of light,” Bernaldez said.

He disclosed that during the height of the pandemic last year, the United Landowners Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ULAMCO) was one of the recipients of DAR’s Farm Productivity Support under the PaSSOver: ARBold Move for Deliverance of ARBs from the COVID-19 Pandemic (ARBold Move) where ARBs received farm inputs such as fertilizers, seedlings and farm tools.

“Through DAR ARBOLD Program, ARBs of ULAMCO started planting the seedlings they received in their more than 20 hectares of land which was a vast Cavendish Banana Plantation 2 years ago,” he said.

Barnaldez disclosed that because of the dreaded Fusarium Wilt, the MARSMAN ESTATE PLANTATION did not renew its leasehold from ULAMCO, formerly the United Landowners Marketing Cooperative (ULMARCO),  and ARBs were left empty-handed.

“After months of planting the seedlings as well as by following the guidelines made by the farm inputs provider, the members of the cooperative are now reaping the fruits of their labor and became one of the vegetable suppliers in Panabo City Premium Market and other neighboring cities and municipalities,’ Bernaldez said.

Bernaldez said the income from the vegetable is huge and unexpected and advised them to keep improving and keep harvesting and assured them that the DAR will coordinate with local government units and ARBO to make this successful and sustainable.

ULAMCO has now a total of 82 members and 32 of which are ARBs. The coop changed its name from ULMARCO to ULAMCO in 2019 order to avail the Micro-Finance Project of the Department of Agrarian Reform to venture into Lending. (DAR)