Cagayan ARC Clusters identified as World Bank-IPAC project sites

There are two Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) Clusters in Cagayan province which were identified as project sites for the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) approved World Bank- Inclusive Partnership for AgriculturalCompetitiveness (IPAC) project. The project is aimed at helping farmers improve their standard of living, reduce poverty incidence, and develop the agri-business industry in the province in general.

The Department of Agrarian Reform-World Bank IPAC is a P10-billion project that will be funded by World Bank with counterparts from the national and local government which will cover 13 qualified regions such as Region 02 in the Cagayan Valley.

Cagayan province in Region 02 has been identified as one of the project sites wherein two Agrarian Reform Community Clusters, namely the Cagayan Grains Central ARC Cluster and the Cagayan South ARC Cluster are now preparing for the implementation of the project.

An ARC cluster is composed of two or more agrarian reform communities (ARCs) who have banded together to share resources, to work together to attain economies of scale and to expand their business operations that will include other municipalities.

The ARC Cluster shall be promoted as the convergence point of all government program implemented by government agencies such that each program and project is complimentary and supportive to each other. The strategy shall adopt a more comprehensive and integrated approach to rural development through collaborative efforts by all stake holders and partners. The bottom line objective is to improve productivity and income of the farmers by focusing agribusiness development of agro-industrial crops and to create economies of scale and active, harmonious and peaceful communities.

Another aim of this strategy is to widen the impact area that the ARC Program has started. It is intended to concretely operationalize partnership and convergence of development interventions in the rural areas not only in ARCs but to include the Non-ARC communities. 

The Cagayan Grains Central ARC Cluster is composed of 8 ARCs in 3 municipalities, includes of the following ARCs: Sunrise ARC (Gattaran), TANASICATCU ARC (Gattaran), LASVINAG ARC (Gattaran), Eastern Alcala ARC (Alcala), Greenfields ARC (Alcala), Evergreen ARC (Baggao), NALASBANGCA ARC (Baggao) and Insan-As-Viba ARC (Baggao). The Cagayan Grains Central ARC Cluster shall develop an integrated grains and livestock production, processing and marketing enterprises.

The Cagayan South ARC Cluster, on the other hand, is composed of nine (9) ARCs located in five (5) municipalities: NASUERTECA ARC (Amulung), Malaueg ARC (Rizal), MADOVILLA ARC (Piat), CACABLAY ARC (Tuao), SALAMIN ARC (Tuao), SABUNG ARC (Tuao), Western Solana ARC (Solana), FURABAN ARC (Solana) and ROBA ARC (Enrile). The Cagayan South ARC Cluster shall develop an integrated livestock and aquaculture production, processing and marketing enterprises.

The main objective of IPAC is to enhance access to markets and competitiveness of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), smallholder and landless farmers in the targeted agrarian reform community (ARC) clusters.

The project will also capacitate organized farmers who are members of farmers’ organizations such agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (ARBOs),  to engage market-oriented production and agri-business. Also, to increase access to  appropriate and sustainable production, post-harvest, processing technology and agri-extension services.

The IPAC project will enhance the linkage of farmers and ARBOs/farmers organizations to markets and establish business partnership between them and private sector traders.

Establishing farm-to-market roads is just one of the government's projects which are in line with IPAC's goals.

The project is awarded to organizations already capable of managing their respective cooperatives. It will also enable them to continue their existing farm programs through support services and access to loans.

DAR‘s target implementation of the project is in the middle of 2017, with other line agencies like Department of Agriculture, and Land Bank of the Philippines as the credit program’s depository agency.

DAR Central Office said that P4,358,483 loaned from the WB will make up 42.93 percent of the P10,154,392 total budget for the IPAC Project. The national government will put in P4,543,099 or 44.74 percent of the total amount, local government units will allot P20,449 or 0.20 percent, and farmers' organizations will contribute 1,232,000 or 12.13 percent.

Land distribution is not the sole task of DAR. It also provides support services to agrarian reform beneficiaries empower them to become economically productive and successful agri-entrepreneurs. 

Oxfam (NGO) calls for implementation of a disaster risk reduction (DRR) Plan

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan - Oxfam conducts forum calling for the implementation of a Disaster Risk Reduction Plan in the Super Typhoon LAWIN affected areas in northern Luzon, that is, in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela and Apayao. The forum was attended by members of civil society organizations, officials from the local government units (barangay, municipal and provincial), media personalities and also members from the Cagayan Valley Bloggers Society, Inc.  The forum was held on February 15, 2017 at Hotel Roma in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan which reviewed the responses to the Super Typhoon  Lawin aftermath and called for the implementation for a Disaster Risk Reduction Plan for agriculture after seing that the farmers are most vulnerable to the cycle of indebtedness after every occurence of typhoons and calamities. 

Oxfam, a non-government agency (NGO) is an international confederation of 18 organisations working in more than 94 countries fighting poverty. The name “Oxfam” stands for the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, founded in Britain in 1942. It started when the group campaigned for food supplies to be sent through an allied naval blockade to starving women and children in enemy-occupied Greece during the Second World War. It then eveolved as a world leader in the delivery of emergency relief. It long-term development programs in vulnerable communities. It supports campaigns to fix the global food system, end unfair trade rules, and combat climate change.    

When Super Typhoon Lawin (international name: Haima) hit the Philippines in northern Luzon, the areas hit by Super Typhoon Lawin had already been suffering from the devastation of recent typhoon that just hit the area, that is, Typhoon Sarika (local name: Karen) a week earlier and the prolonged El Nino phenomenon in 2015 and early 2016.         

     

Heavily affected by Super Typhoon Lawin were the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela and Apayao which were dominantly agricultural and among the Philippines' top producer of corn and rice. It devastated the livelihood of farmers and were forced to indebtedness, food shortage and prolonged exposure to the elements as their houses were blown away.   

      

In addressing these situations Oxfam in the Philippines initiated a humanitarian response in the provinces of Cagayan, Apayao and Isabela with its partner NGOs: (1) People’s Disaster Risk Reduction Network (PDRRN) for the province of Cagayan; (2) Citizen’s Disaster Response Centre (CDRC) for the province of Apayao; and (3) Center for Emergency Aid and Rehabilitation (CONCERN) for the province of Isabela.   

    

Oxfam’s response helped more than 2,000 farmers by providing financial assistance for livelihood projects and other immediate household needs. About 300 women severely affected by the super typhoon were given access to additional cash for food and other special needs related to their sexual and reproductive health rights. The NGOs under Oxfam also worked closely with the national and local government units in providing support to meet international humanitarian standards and to uphold the rights of the most vulnerable. /cds