DAR-Cagayan turns-over Common Service Facilities (CSF) to ARB Coops

     A huge warehouse in Alicia, Isabela served as a temporary storage for tractors, threshers, reapers, harvesters, water pumps and other farm machineries and equipments worth P21,117,474.00 awaiting delivery to the various farmers’ organizations in the Cagayan Valley Region.

     These farm machineries and equipments were acquired under the Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS) project of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).  The ARCCESS program is a government initiated activity pursuant to the mandate of R.A. 6657 (CARP), now known as CARPER (R.A. 9700) after the former was amended and extended. It involves the participation of state colleges and universities, civil society organizations, private institutions and other stake holders aimed at providing a wide range of services to improve the performance of agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations (ARBOs) in terms of agri-enterprise, access to markets, product development, ability to compete with other businesses, and participate in economies of scale.

   It aims to improve farm productivity, increase the CARP beneficiaries’ net income and also sustain the farmers’ livelihood by improving the organizational management capabilities of organizations being managed by agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) through agri-enterprise development.   

    In Cagayan province, three ARB cooperatives in three Agrarian Reform Communities were initially identified as beneficiary-cooperatives, namely South Western Solana Farmers Cooperative in Solana, Cagayan; Naguillan Christian Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Lallo, Cagayan; and Nararagan Valley Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Ballesteros, Cagayan.

     On March 14, 2013 the DAR provincial office of Cagayan, headed by PARO Virgilio M. Acasili turned-over various Common Service Facilities (CSF) consisting of hand tractors with implements, threshers, water pumps and other farm implements in favor of the farmers’ cooperatives at Alicia, Isabela after the execution of the necessary contracts during the turn-over  ceremony.

 For Cagayan province, Solana West Farmers Cooperative (SOWESFACO) received two hand tractors with implements, three threshers and four water pumps; Naguillian Christian MPC received three hand tractors with implements, three threshers, one reaper and a mechanical transplanter with seeder conveyor; and Nararagan Valley MPC received three hand tractors with implements, three threshers  and four water pumps. 

    These CSFs will help modernize farming in the Cagayan province and substantially increase the income of ARBs and their households. The farm machineries were distributed as equipment grant to be operated by the ARB organizations as a business asset wherein they can collect minimal fees for the operation and maintenance thereof. The ARCCESS  project would also teach ARBs agri-business technologies  and assist them establish viable and sustainable farm enterprises and provide access to credit and better markets.    /cds