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.
