DAR approves Php26 million projects for Lallo ARB Coop

Lallo, Cagayan – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has approved the funding for projects worth P26 million in favor of the Naguillan Christian Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Naguillan Christian MPC) under the Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services program (ARCCESS). 

The ARCCESS program 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.

     The ARCCESS program is a government initiated activity in pursuance 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.

     As such, the Naguillan Christian Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Lallo, Cagayan shall be receiving assistance in the form of provision and construction of common service facilities (CSF), such as: post harvest facilities, truck, warehouse, mechanical dryer, etc. It also includes the provision of financial management trainings to ensure the sustainability of the project which will be managed by the cooperative. The cooperative was recently visited by no less than DAR Secretary Virgilio de Los Reyes sometime in November 2012 during the conduct of the capability assessment of the cooperative. /cds

DAR Secretary Virgilio de Los Reyes at Naguillan Christian MPC in Lallo, Cagayan. (Photo by: DAR Regional Office 02)

DAR Pips You Should Know: Jojo Juan, OIC-Head, PMEU

The PMEU, or the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, is  section in the DAR Provincial Office of Cagayan province that is tasked with Database Management, among other things. It is also tasked with monitoring, administration and maintenance of databases and database groups in the DAR Provincial Office.

A Database is an organized collection of data, usually in digital form today, which is systematically organized to model relevant aspects of reality such as, land acquisition and distribution, support services, legal services, etc.

Hence, the PMEU organizes information related to Land Tenure Improvement (land acquisition and distribution), databases pertaining to program beneficiaries development, the delivery of agrarian justice, and recently, the conduct of the Agrarian Reform Communities Level of Development Assessment (ALDA) and feed backing thereof.

The ALDA is conducted yearly by the Department of Agrarian Reform. This yearly activity is conducted to obtain information about the different aspects of development in the agrarian reform communities. It shows basic indicators at the community level and builds an index for each of the key result areas, providing an overall index for analysis. It measures the ARC’s development, hence, if the interventions among key result areas are implemented, it will show that rural development is feasible.

Additionally, it maintains the Field Operations (FO files) Database, the ARC  Monitoring and Tracking System (ARC-MTS), the EP-CLOA Information System (EPIS/CLOAIS), our Sectoral Reports, etc., a tough job for such a small office unit.

The PMEU is headed by Mr. ELVERITO A. JUAN, Computer Programmer II, who is the OIC-Head of the Unit. He is married to Rosalinda Valdepenas and gifted with two kids. He is joined in the PMEU by Engr. Albert “Jack” Paguirigan, Engineer II; Esther Quizzagan, Assistant Statistician; and Fritz Irigayen, Administrative Aide II.

They not only gather data, but also assist in the conduct of analyses from such data/information that support processes requiring accurate information. JOJO, as we call him is a silent type, hard working individual. Their outputs are actually a big help for DAR personnel in the field offices as it helps in a significant way in tracking the various landholdings for acquisition and distribution which graduates into the generation and registration of EP/CLOA titles in favor agrarian reform beneficiaries. /cds