DAR Cagayan Valley 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

Farmers experience increased production under Sugacane Block Farms

Sometime in the year 2013, the Department ofAgrarian Reform (DAR) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the SugarRegulatory Authority (SRA) started the Sugarcane Block Farms project, with nineteen (19) pilot sites most of which are in Negros Occidental. As a consequence thereof, it was shown that the pilot sites posted an average increase of 29 percent in farm productivity for the crop year 2013-2014 after a year of operation. It was also established that the block farms had an average increase from 50.78 tons cane per hectare (TC/Ha) to 65.29 TC/Ha during the period. All the pilot block farms showed increases in productivity ranging from 7.47 percent to 100 percent after receiving capacity-building, technical assistance, farm planning, and farm management support from SRA.

The Sugarcane Block Farm in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, specially, the Hacienda Bernardita Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative experienced a 7.47 percent increase in production, from its traditional production of 77 TC/Ha to 82.75 TC/Ha. A similar experience was also posted by the North Cluster Producers Cooperative in Paniqui, Tarlac which involved a 100 percent increase in productivity from 50 TC/Ha to 100 TC/Ha. Consequently, the average 29 percent increase in productivity resulted to an average increase of the agrarian reform beneficiaries’ (ARBs) income by P39,815 per hectare, at 1.96 Lkg per TC.

The SBF project includes trainings on Sugarcane high-yeild varieties production and management. 

In Cagayan province, Sugarcane Block Farms started in 2016-2017 through the Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS) project covering the Bugnay Farmers Marketing Cooperative in Tuao, Cagayan and the Mabuhay Agri-Crops MPC in Piat, Cagayan. The 2017-2018 FBS project included the Bantay Farmers Producers Cooperative in Solana, Cagayan and Pinoy Bagong Pagasa Marketing Cooperative in Tuao, Cagayan. For the 2018-2019 SBF projects, the ARBOs to be enrolled are Roma Sur MPC in Enrile, Cagayan and Villarey ARB Cooperative in Piat, Cagayan.

Cagayan SBF ARBOs enrolled under the SBF project are provided farm machines to ensure the sustainability of the project. 

The DAR-DA/SRA Sugarcane Block Farms (SBF) project involves the consolidation of the management of small farms of less than five hectares, into a bigger but contiguous unit of at least 30 hectares for purposes of improving farm productivity while individual ownership by the ARB is maintained.

Information gathered from SRA shows that about 85 percent of sugarcane farms in the country have areas below five hectares due the widespread coverage of agri lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), subdivision of lands by inheritance, sale, etc.

Sugarcane is a plantation crop and its cost-efficiency ratio is achieved with large farm sizes such as 30 hectares and above, small sugarcane farmers cannot avail of the benefits of economies of scale, such as reduced prices of inputs for bulk purchases, etc. The present ARB-land owners also do not have the capability to provide the needed farm inputs resulting to lower production, it is also aggravated by the lower price offered by millers except for large volume transactions. 

The Sugarcane Block Farms project aims to consolidated small sugarcane farms into larger agribusiness ventures, improved farm management and mechanized farming by the ARB’s through provision of essential technical, financial, production and marketing support services under the project. At the end of their enrollment under the SBF project, these ARBOs shall be able to operate the sugarcane block farms as a business and become a major industry player through economies of scale.

ARB management skills enhanced by DAR-CDA Partnership II

     The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Cagayan province is presently assisting 59 agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (ARBOs) composed of more than forty agrarian reform beneficiaries’ cooperatives. One component of DAR’s assistance is the organizational management aspect composed of local capability building activities for the proper management of these farmers’ cooperatives by the Coop officers. This is being undertaken in partnership with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

   Being the lead agency in cooperative development, the Cooperative Development Authority provides technical assistance to the ARB Cooperatives which include trainings, pre-registration seminars, mentoring, coaching, consultancy, bookkeeping, accounting, auditing, assistance on regulatory requirements, etc. The CDA also provides assistance for the rehabilitation of agrarian reform beneficiaries’ cooperatives.

     To strengthen this joint efforts, the DAR and the CDA entered into a Memorandum of Agreement renewing their respective commitments to promote and strengthen the ARB cooperatives and to ensure the sustainability of the cooperative enterprise activities.  The program, which is dubbed as DAR-CDA Partnership II, intends to put in place a capacity development (CAPDEV) initiative, among others, to improve service delivery to their members and positively giving impact to their business performance and operations.

   For the DAR Provincial Office of Cagayan, most of the ARBO-cooperatives have already completed the mandatory trainings for cooperatives under the partnership except for the newly organized cooperatives and the ARB organizations/associations who have recently decided to convert into agrarian reform beneficiaries’ cooperatives who need to undergo trainings on cooperative operation and management.

    These capability building activities and enterprise management trainings are significantly important at present because these ARBOs in Cagayan are recipients of farm machineries such as hand-tractors, mechanical tillers, four-wheel drive tractors, combine harvesters, hauling trucks, etc. As such, it is essential that they are equipped with the knowledge and capacities to operate these multi-million peso assets into a viable income generating business enterprises for their cooperatives.

    The present government under the Duterte Administration has made it possible for viable ARB cooperatives to access farm machineries to maximize farm productivity pursuant to the food security program and increase their income to counter the adverse effects of climate change.

   The Memorandum of Agreement seeks to renew DAR and CDA’s commitment to develop functional agrarian reform cooperatives managing profitable and sustainable enterprises in order to better serve their members and contribute in improving the quality of life of ARBs, their household and rural women. Generally, it aims to support the government’s program of reducing poverty through cooperatives.

ROBA ARC counters Climate Change hazards with Bamboo Plantation

      The municipality of Enrile in Cagayan province is on the frequent path of typhoons. It is often visited by other disasters such as flood, man-made and other natural calamities. According to the climate projection of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), unfavourable changes in climate conditions will be expected in 2006-2035 for the southern part of Cagayan where Enrile is located. Such changes may have direct or indirect effect on the farming activities of the ROBA Agrarian Reform Community (ROBA ARC) farmers. Temperature in the area is projected to increase at an average of 0.9 degree Celsius in 2006-2035 (2020). Temperature will be highest in months of June-August. PAGASA also projects significant increase in rainfall by 16.3% in months of September-November when the season of corn planting starts, which is an alarming increase in all aspects of climate events. ROBA ARC is also threatened by the projected tripling in the number of days with rainfall above 200 mm. Heavy rainfall is identified as the primary cause of soil erosion in the area. Eroded farms may eventually result to loss of livelihood of the farmers.

Enrile town in Cagayan province is easily flooded during typhoon season and wrecks havoc on farms along Cagayan River. Photo: LGU-Cagayan

     Roma Sur Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Roma Sur MPC) is the lead agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organization (ARBO) within the ROBA ARC located in the municipality of Enrile, Cagayan which embraces barangays Roma Sur, Roma Norte and Batu (with Liwan Norte and San Antonio as expansion barangays).  

     To counter the devastating effects of climate change in their community, members of Roma Sur MPC was able to access a total of P716,230 (P650,000 from DAR; P20,000 from LGU and P40,230 as its counterpart) for funding a project entitled: The Promotion of Climate Change Adaptive Measures to Counter Adverse Effects in ROBA ARC (Planting of Bamboo Along Contours and Riverbanks with Climate Change Adaptation Capability Training). The project was duly approved under DAR’s Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support (CRFPS) services.

Roma Sur MPC in ROBA ARC was able to acquire funds from DAR-CRFPS for a Bamboo Plantation project. (Photo by: Lau Miguel)

     The project provides environmental protection through the planting of bamboo along the contours and riverbanks which primarily addresses the concern on the rapid erosion and disappearance of farmlands near the Cagayan River.  This component is being pursued in close partnership with the LGU and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). It also involves the establishment of a five thousand square-meter Bamboo Nursery for the propagation of propagules locally known as Kawayan Tinik and Bayog after which they are planted into a five-hectare plantation both managed by the ARBO. The five-hectare bamboo plantation will be the source for the of the member’s income generating project.  

Bamboo seedlings for the Nursery. (Photo by: Lau Miguel) 

      The remaining propagules will be sold at reasonable price so as to generate income and portion of the money raised will be used again for the next cycle of the bamboo propagule-growing to cater to the additional demands on bamboo seedlings. This is a cost recovery and an income generating project. Net proceeds will be capitalized on the next batch of bamboo production making the project self-liquidating and sustainable.

      The bamboo harvested from the project will become a sustainable source of raw materials for the bamboo craft industry of the ARB organization and for other bamboo requirements of third parties such as construction scaffolding, bahay-kubo builders, bamboo furniture, etc. As part of their community involvement and contribution to the overall development goal of the Municipality, the cooperative will provide a portion of seedlings to the LGU as their counterpart to the Greening Program of the municipality.

    The member of the ARBO were also provided with capability training on Climate Change Adaptation and Bamboo Farming. Climate change is a phenomenon that needs to be fully understood by everyone.  The series of events that led to drastic changes in weather patterns, which now threatens the lives, livelihood and practically the very existence of this civilization, is not singlehandedly accounted to an act, a group or an individual for that matter. 

      Climate change is an effect of the collaborative actions, and sometimes inaction, of a generation so much bent on consumerism – the resultant culture of industrialization.  To counter its impact and reverse its consequences, whenever possible, its origins, nature, effects and countermeasures were studied and explained.

    Incorporating further in the capability building were skills training on bamboo farming to strengthen the capacity of ARBs to handle and manage the project effectively. The farmers, their organizations, households and their entire community were encouraged to learn adaptive measures and put into practice eco-friendly technologies in their day-to-day activities.
     Machineries and equipment were provided as part of the mechanization aspect for easier and timely production and postharvest operations.  It reduces drudgery of field work and lowers production costs. These machineries and equipment would be very essential in the production activities of the project i.e. hauling of seedlings from nursery to plantation, plantation site (harvested bamboo poles) to production and manufacturing center of furniture and handicrafts (ARBO’s existing enterprise), it will also function as service vehicle of the ARBO for the delivery of pre-ordered furniture and seedlings trading.  Aside from these inevitable uses, said machineries can also be utilize in other farm activities of farmer-members. Suggested machineries can be an income generating equipment itself through custom hiring. The ARBO could maximize the utilization of the equipment and have an extra earnings since custom hiring is a growing industry now a days because of the emerging trend in farm mechanization. 

Farm machineries for the Bamboo Plantation project were also provided. 

     The Roma Sur MPC has long acknowledged the potential of bamboo furniture as an income source.  For several years, members of this cooperative in ROBA ARC have augmented their farm income from the sale of sala sets, chairs, tables, beds and lampshades made of bamboo.  However, the production of good quality furniture is hampered by the lack of technology and the insufficient supply of bamboo to the ARC. Bamboo farming and bamboo processing are well suited to the twin concerns of livelihood enhancement and environmental protection – the key components for developing third world countries today. The production of these products can be organized and formed as industries that provide material benefits and livelihood development to the people.

     Climate impacts do not affect all communities equally. The region's most vulnerable areas, including low-income communities, often bear a disproportionate burden of climate impacts. Geography also determines a community's exposure to climate effects. For instance, communities have greater exposure to flooding based on their underlying natural landscapes, infrastructure capacities, and impervious surface coverage. To successfully build climate resilience, the region must address the complex intersections of these built, natural, and social systems.

      The municipality of Enrile in Cagayan province is one of the most vulnerable areas, being located among the low-income communities. It often endures a disproportionate burden of climate impacts. It has a greater exposure to flooding due to typhoons and heavy rains which always challenges its move towards attaining a sustainable agro-industrial growth. To successfully build climate resilience, the community must address the compound intersections of natural and social systems affecting its existence. One of these measures is the Bamboo plantation in the ROBA Agrarian Reform Community. /with Marvi Trinidad-Bulan

DAR-WFP partnership for Food Security in ARCs

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations and the world's leading humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance not only in emergencies but also working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

Climate change has brought hunger and  poverty . 

The WFP also offers technical assistance and capacity strengthening for appropriate sustainable food security and nutrition solutions which include enhancing capacity for emergency preparedness and response, logistics, and supply chain management; strengthening risk reduction capabilities through social safety nets; and bolstering climate risk management, adaptation and resilience including matter on nutrition.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), on the other hand is mandated among other tasks, to uplift living standards of rural landless by allocating land rights to and through provision of complementary support for agrarian reform beneficiaries especially in agrarian reform communities (ARCs).

Pursuant thereto, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) recently forged an agreement to develop and implement programs towards land tenure improvement and increasing agricultural productivity, promote social protection and climate resilience in agrarian reform communities (ARCs).

The primary tasks under this partnership is to publish an atlas that would be used as essential reference materials for strategic planning and policy formulation for land tenure improvement and support services, food security and social protection programs and projects. This initially involves gathering data, monitoring and assessing information for the book that would be called The Philippine Food and Nutrition Security Atlas. The monitoring system will use indicators on food security, poverty reduction and capacity building on data collection, processing and reporting.

As agreed upon by both parties, the DAR and the WFP shall work together in providing inputs to the joint publication of the Philippine Food and Nutrition Security Atlas. They shall likewise work together in overseeing and supervising activities on programs and projects on disaster preparedness and climate resilience measures. The partnership will be in effect until 2020.

In a recently conducted DAR-WFP orientation-workshop pertaining thereto, it was informed that there are in fact ARCs where farmer-beneficiaries are experiencing food insecurity while in some areas, cases of stunting and various forms of malnutrition exists among members of the farmer-households.  The tasks of addressing these concerns is within the ambit of the DAR-WFP partnership, in addition to ensuring food security in all agrarian reform communities and agrarian reform areas.

The right to food of all Filipinos has yet to be fully realized owing to: a lack of a national right to food strategy/framework; conflicting laws and policies especially on land use and trade liberalization, etc. -Focus on the Global South (NGO)

ARBOs in Cagayan province receive farm machineries

TUGUEGARAO CITY, CAGAYAN. It is the month of February and the farmers in Cagayan province are already warry of the coming summer months where temperatures historically rise to record breaking highs which usually result to disastrous consequences on their crops. But this time, they are confident that this year’s adverse effects of climate change may be mitigated through the DAR-CRFPS project.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is presently implementing a program to address the catastrophic effects of climate change among its agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) through the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support (CRFPS) project wherein it aims to increase farm productivity and income of ARBs and members of their household in ARCs through mechanized farming. This strategy is expected to maximize the productivity and utilization of farm lands and ensure food self-sufficiency.

Mechanized farming basically involves the provision of tractors, mechanical seeders, planters and harvesters. The qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations (ARBOs) are provided with farm machineries by DAR through the CRFPS project who shall operate and maintain the same. The members of the ARBO then hire the services of these machineries such as tractors, combine harvesters, etc for a discounted fee. Non-members may also avail of these service but on the regular fees prescribed by the ARBO-operators. Fees collected by the ARBO shall be used for the maintenance and for purchase of other farm machineries as needed. Mechanized farming involves preparing the farm, seeding, transplanting and harvesting.

Mechanized farming among agrarian reform communities finds inspiration in the very successful farm practices in Barangay Halang, Naic, Cavite, with Bernabe Buscayno, the former rebel leader of the New People’s Army (NPA). Buscayno has shown that Filipino farmers can be competitive in rice production if it adopts the farm mechanization technology. He said that among the rice producing countries in Asia, the Philippines is  lagging behind by producing only about four tons of palay per hectare. Taiwan is producing about 10 tons, Japan, 12 tons, and China, 17 tons because they have adopted full farm mechanization.

The DAR-CRFPS project also encourages Filipino farmers and their children to go back to farming and produce more. Further, other ARBs who are not yet members of ARBOs would be encouraged to join in order to avail of the services of these machineries at lower fees, in addition to receiving dividends as members of the ARBO.  

In Cagayan province, there are fourteen ARBOs who are recipients of various farm machineries under the project, from hand tractors to 90HP four-wheel drive tractors and 70 HP combine harvesters. Under the 2017 DAR-CRFPS project, five (5) units of 90HP 4WD tractors and four (4) units of  60 HP combine harvesters were procured, among several others. The five (5) units of 7 HP hand tractors with disc plow, harrow, leveler, and trailer were earlier delivered to three ARBOs; one (1) unit mechanical shredder was also recently delivered to an ARBO in Rizal, Cagayan; another two (2) units of 7 HP floating tillers with rotovator were also delivered to an ARBO in Gattaran, Cagayan. A total of fourteen ARBOs shall benefit from these farm machineries. 

The ARBs can now have access to these farm machineries because no less than Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte himself ordered the removal of costly financial counterparts/equity in general on the part of farmer-beneficiaries. In addition to farm machineries, the DAR-CRFPS project also provides funding for solar pump irrigation systems, three of which are already installed in the three pilot sites in Cagayan managed and operated by the qualified ARBOs. Majority of the ARBO-recipients of these farm machineries are farmers cooperatives who are the lead organizations in agrarian reform communities (ARCs). 

Other prospective ARBOs were likewise encouaged to improve their organizational management capabilities and prepare other requirements as discussed during the 2017 ARBO Summit wherein the programs and projects of the Duterte Administration where also presented by representatives from Kilusang Pagbabago (KP-Cagayan Valley Lead Organization) and the Office of Participatory Governance (OPG) as part of the discussions on empowering the farmers through Participatory Governance. 

Five ARBOs in Cagayan will receive these 70HP 4-wheel drive tractors with accessories

The Rice Combine Harvester makes the harvesting process easier by combining six operations such as gathering, transporting, reaping, threshing, cleaning and bagging into one machine. 

The farm machineries include complete accessories to maximize its utilization by the various ARBOs. 

Machines and implements of this type provide the small farmer with a means of farm power suited to his farm size and income.

Cagayan PARCCOM-PCIT to accelerate CARP implementation and monitor flagship projects

      The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Provincial Office of Cagayan-Batanes kick started the year with a joint Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM) and Provincial CARP Implementing Team (PCIT) meeting on January 26, 2018 in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan wherein the representatives of the member-agencies presented their agency thrusts in so far as CARP implementation is concerned.

     The National Irrigation Adminstration (NIA) reported on current irrigation projects in Cagayan and on the P2.696-billion Chico River Pump Irrigation Project, an electric motor pump driven irrigation which will service 8,700 hectares of agricultural land benefitting 4,350 farmers in 21 barangays in Cagayan, Kalinga and Apayao. The project is expected to provide an incremental net income of up to P42,273 per hectare a year from the farmers’ previous P28, 952 per hectare annual income without the irrigation. It will be able to provide around 7,580 jobs during the implementation period and around 8,700 people will have permanent jobs when completed and becomes operation in three years. 
      The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) introduced new technologies on fertilizer production made from carrageenan, a substance extracted from red and purple seaweeds abundant along the coastal town in Cagayan province, consisting of a mixture of polysaccharides. It is traditionally used as a thickening or emulsifying agent in food products. Carrageenan as a growth enhancer offers an array of benefits that result in improved productivity. When used properly, it makes the rice stem stronger improving rice resistance to logging. It becomes resistant to rice ‘tungro’ virus and bacterial leaf blight resulting to increased harvest by farmers. 
      The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) also presented the various ongoing activities for promotion and marketing of agrarian reform beneficiaries’ products the Shared Service Faciities (SSF) being distributed to qualified farmers' organizations. 
       The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Register of Deeds (ROD) also reported on their activities for the acquisition and distribution of lands covered by CARP, among many others. One highlight of the meeting is the joint efforts of the member-agencies which resulted to the resolution of specific legal and factual issues facilitating the acquisition of the hundreds of hectares of farmlands located in the Solana-Piat boundary. Other equally important issues and concerns on CARP implementation were likewise resolved during the meeting.      Representatives from KilusangPagbabago,  namely, Mr. Nathaniel Gumangan, Public Relations Officer, KP-Cagayan Valley and Mr. Napoleon Baltazar, Program Director, KP-Cagayan Valley also briefly discussed Malacanang Executive Order No. 9, Series of 2016 regarding the mandate to promote Participatory Governance as a way of empowering the agrarian reform beneficiaries and other farmers among others. In addition, the role of the Kilusang Pagbabago in monitoring government programs and projects was also emphasized. 

    The Joint PARCCOM-PCIT is pursuant to the provisions of Executive Order No. 406 that mandates certain departments and agencies to review, evaluate and align their programs and projects in order to integrate them into the major thrusts of the CARP.  EO No. 406 also directs the DAR to accelerate the agrarian reform beneficiaries' development through the provision of economic and social infrastructure support.

      The PCIT is composed of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Transportation andCommunication, Department of National Defense, Department of Justice, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Trade and Industry, LandBank of the Philippines and Land Registration Authority.

      Section 44 and Section 45 of RA 6657 mandated the creation of a Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM) in each province, composed of a Chairman, who shall be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the EXCOM, the Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer as Executive Officer, and one representative each from the Departments of Agriculture, and of Environment and Natural Resources and from the LBP, one representative each from existing farmers’ organizations, agricultural cooperatives and non-governmental organizations in the province; two representatives from landowners, at least one of whom shall be a producer representing the principal crop of the province, and two representatives from farmer and farmworker-beneficiaries, at least one of whom shall be a farmer or farmworker representing the principal crop of the province, as members: provided, that in areas where there are cultural communities, the latter shall likewise have one representative.

      The PARCCOM shall coordinate and monitor the implementation of the CARP in the province. It shall provide information on the provisions of the CARP, guidelines issued by the PARC and on the progress of the CARP in the province.

      The PARCCOM is the provincial counterpart of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) Executive Committee (ExCom) and the partners of the PARC Secretariat. The PARC is the highest policy-making body in implementing agrarian reform laws. The PARCOMM are tasked with the coordination and monitoring of the programs and activities implemented by the agrarian reform program implementing agencies at the field level.

DARPO Cagayan-Batanes PARO II Engr. Arthur Faeldon addressing the members of the PARCCOM-PCIT.

DENR-PENRO reporting on their agency's thrusts and programs under CARP.

Open forum on the member-agencies 2018 thrusts and programs

The Register of Deeds addressing issues pertaining to registration of land titles and deeds.

Representatives from the Kilusang Pagbabago-Cagayan Valley discussed matters on Participatory Governance.

Activities in the Cooperative Sector were presented with more requests for support services facilities being considered. 

New technology on the production of Carrageenan based soil enhancer by DENR

Presentation on the concerns of private sector representatives

DAR builds Solar Pump Irrigation System in ARCs in Cagayan province

The Department of Agrarian Reform Provincial Office of Cagayan-Batanes (DARPO Cagayan-Batanes) has provided funds thru its DAR Central Office, for the construction of the initial three (3) solar pump irrigation system in Cagayan province with technology provided by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Soil and Water Management (DA-BSWM). The project costs approximately P877,500.00 per site.

The Solar Pump Irrigation System project will provide solar panels and control accessories that will generate solar energy. Submersible water pumps will draw water from an underground source into concrete water tanks as storage,  and the water from the storage tank shall flow into the vegetable farms through pipes. 

The three pilot sites for the solar pump irrigation systems are located in Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs), specfically: (1) San Esteban Farmers Cooperative in the Eastern Alcala Agrarian Reform Community (Eastern Alcala ARC) in the municipality of Alcala; (2) Lasvinag Multi-Purpose Cooperative in the Lasvinag Agrarian Reform Community (Lasvinag ARC) in the municipality of Gattaran; and (3) Nabbotuan Multi-Purpose Cooperative in the Furaban Agrarian Reform Community (Furaban ARC) in the municipality of Solana. 

On December 18, 2017, an Operation and Maintenance Seminar was conducted to prepare the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBO) members to be able to properly operate and maintain the facilities with a site visit to familiarize the participants with the system.

The Solar Pump Irrigation System resolves the vegetable farmers’ water supply challenges specially with today’s devastating effects of climate change. When operational, they can utilize the systems to provide water to irrigate their vegetable farms, household water supply, livestock raising, etc. The construction of solar pump irrigation systems in the pilot sites are expected to be completed by the end of January 2018 and will be turned over to the ARBO immediately after completion.  

Solar panels provide energy to run the water pumps in vegetable farms with no access to electricity. 

A training on the operation and maintenance was conducted for the recipient-operators of the project. 

Members of the three ARBO-recipients of the project in Cagayan undergo training on operation and maintenance. 

Unlimited water for vegetable farmers through the solar pump (submersible) irrigation system. 

 

27 ARBs from Alcala, Cagayan Graduate from Farm Business School

       Some 27 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries were able to complete the several sessions on the Farm Business School (FBS) training (on Pinakbet vegetables production and marketing) facilitated by the Department of Agrarian Reform Provincial Office of Cagayan-Batanes (DARPO Cagayan-Batanes) and the Local Government Unit of Alcala, Cagayan (LGU-Alcala) sometime in December 2017 at the Eastern Alcala Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) in barangay San Esteban, Alcala, Cagayan.

      The Farm Business School aims to equip the participating farmer beneficiaries with skills and knowledge in adding value to their commodities to command higher premium. In addition, they are trained how to market their products to maximize their income.

      After a model is selected and participants are gathered, the FBS proceeded with its three stages: (1) Diagnosis and planning – includes getting to know the farmers and the farmers getting to know each other, teaching basic business concepts, market assessment analysis (SWOT – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats); (2) Implementing – Farmers develop a vision and a goal for their farm business and then work with the trainers to develop a business plan; continue with business education; and (3) Evaluating and re-planning – Benefits and performance are assessed, an action plan is developed and participants prepare for the next season.

    The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) started setting up farm business schools (FBS) in selected communities in different provinces. It is designed to transform farmer-beneficiaries from producers of raw farm goods to becoming agri-entrepreneurs.

   Agrarian Reform Beneficiries (ARBs) are also taught overall farm management techniques, from production to marketing, to increase and ensure the quality of their harvests, raise their income by learning the proper time and specific crops to be produced to avoid flooding the market with similar crops resulting to low prices. It is also aligned with the goal of attaining food security, improving the small farmers’ access to the market and increasing their income by selling their produce at the proper time.  

       The FBS is being supported by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The initial success of the project led to its being replicated in more areas nationwide. /cds