TACURONG CITY, Sultan Kudarat —  The products of agrarian reform farmers can now be regularly bought at Tacurong Fitmart in the town of Isulan as their farm products, particularly the Freefarm Chili Powder and Flakes, received more positive feedback, hence more patronage.

The products were processed and distributed by Isulan Free Farmers Biofarming Producers Cooperative (IFFABPCO), an agrarian reform beneficiaries organization (ARBO) from Barangay New Pangasinan.

Senior Agrarian Reform Program Officer Cherry Mae Purazo said that IFFABPCO members use raw materials and equipment obtained from the Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) Village Level Farm-focused Enterprise Development (VLFED) Project.

VLFED project focuses on capacitating ARBs to improve their product development and enhance the skills of the farmers in managing their cooperative.

She added that last year, they were provided with support such as grinders, packaging materials, processing equipment, and various capacity building/training to sustain their production.

“I am very excited for the farmers because they were given the opportunity to showcase their products at Tacurong Fitmart as this will significantly increase their market thereby giving them the opportunity to earn more," Purazo said.

The DAR assured the ARBs that they would still receive continuous training and livelihood support.

Meanwhile, IFFABPCO Chairperson Ana Mary Odiaman thanked DAR-Sultan Kudarat and said that the agency's training and marketing conference helped a lot to improve their marketing and salesmanship skills.

"We are truly thankful to DAR for finding ways to help ARBs like us through the provision of training interventions and for going above and beyond to assist us," Odiaman added. (DAR)