QUEZON CITY -- The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in the province of Zamboanga del Sur recently turned over a total of P27.5M worth of support services projects to empower the farmers of Ramon Magsaysay and Tambulig municipalities.
The turned-over projects include a 2.16-kilometer farm to market road Phase II from Barangay Gabunon to Alang-Alang in Tambulig, amounting to P25,029,502.20; one (1) unit recirculating batch mechanical dryer worth P1,350,000.00, and a multipurpose building warehouse amounting to P1,200,000.00.
The project recipients, provided through DAR - Project ConVERGE (Convergence on Value Chain Enhancement for Rural Growth and Empowerment), were Campo IV CARP Beneficiaries and Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CIVCABEFAMCO) and Gabunon Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative (GARBENCO).
Assistant Regional Project Director Agnes Maata said the turned-over projects would address the farmers' clamor for support services to complement their agricultural endeavors.
“The projects would pave the way for farmers and DAR-assisted cooperatives in the province to institutionalize and fully operationalize their value chain enterprise on conventional rice and organic rice production, milling, and marketing,” Maata said.
Project ConVERGE is funded under the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which has the objective of boosting the rural economy and reduce poverty in rural areas by empowering agribusiness enterprises and catalyzing market opportunities.
IFAD Country Programme Officer Director Jerry Pacturan said IFAD entered into a financial agreement with the government of the Philippines with goals of supporting the development of inclusive, sustainable, and resilient commodity chains, providing farmers and agribusinesses with a range of services, including access to finance and business as well as key economic infrastructure such as farm-to-market roads.
“I am hopeful that the entrusted projects will help agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (ARBOs) enrich their agribusiness enterprise so that my subsequent visits will be of ceremonies for the improvements and developments attained by these cooperatives,” Pacturan said.
Present during the event were Ramon Magsaysay Municipal Mayor Leonilo Borinaga, Sr., Tambulig Municipal Mayor Charlotte Panal, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Judith Patriarca-Mantos and DAR officials and employees, barangay chairpersons, and ARBOs CIVCABEFAMCO and GARBENCO and their officers. (DAR)
