ARBOs in Cagayan province granted P8.6M APCP loan

There are at least five agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations (ARBOs) in Cagayan province who have applied for loan services from the DA-DAR-LBP Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP) to finance crop production that will expand agri-enterprise and livelihood projects of their members.

Three of these ARBOs’ applications have been approved as of June 2014, namely: (1) Bical-Baliuag ARB MPC in CABICA Agrarian Reform Community (ARC), Penablanca, Cagayan with a total loan release of P3,300,000.00 for agricultural production loan on corn production benefiting 54 member-ARBs; (2) Caagaman ARC Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Caagaman ARC, Aparri, Cagayan with a loan release of P1,300,000.00 for agricultural production loan on rice production benefiting 60 member-ARBs; and (3) Aparri Valley of Jothbath MPC in Seabreeze ARC, Aparri, Cagayan with a loan release of P4,000,000.00 for agricultural production loan on rice production benefiting 130 member-ARBs.

The other ARBOs who have similarly applied for loan under the APCP but are still awaiting the approval thereof are: Bugnay MPC in the Sabung ARC, Tuao, Cagayan with a loan application of P3,000,000.00 for agricultural production loan on rice production to benefit 54 member-ARBs and Cabayabasan Farmers Cooperative in Nueva Segovia ARC, Lallo, Cagayan with a loan application of P1,500,000.00 to benefit 58 member-ARBs.

According to data earlier disclosed by Mr. Virgilio M. Acasili, Provincial Agrarian Program Reform Officer II (PARPO II) of Cagayan-Batanes provinces, only 57% of farmers have access to credit from financing institutions; that one in three ARBs in ARCs is in need of credit; that new ARB organizations may still not qualify under CAP-PBD and LBP regular lending program; that some ARB organizations still require organizational strengthening to make them credit worthy; and that for these reasons the DA, DAR and LBP have to pool resources and expertise to help ARBs access affordable credit, development assistance and marketing support. 

Sometime in 2012, PresidentBenigno S. Aquino, in line with his commitment to ensure ample support for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB instructed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release P1.0 billion to the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the nationwide implementation of the Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP).

The release was made chargeable against the 2012 General Appropriations Act and is in accordance with a five-year Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by the DA, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and Land Bank of the Philippines. It will provide much-needed credit assistance to farmer-beneficiaries under the agrarian reform program.

Under the MOA, the DA will place the P1-billion fund with Land Bank, P300 million of which will be allocated exclusively for Negros Occidental. The total fund will be used to support the credit requirements of ARBs or ARB household members for their individual or communal crop production projects including  agri-enterprise and livelihood activities.

Through the program, the DA will provide basic support and services, such as marketing assistance and technology packages to qualified ARB organizations (ARBOs). Meanwhile, DAR will be at the helm of identifying eligible ARBs or ARB household members to Landbank. The agency will also provide parallel institutional development assistance to participating ARBOs to help them graduate them to regular lending programs.

DAR will also provide capability-building assistance to beneficiaries, as well as professional management services and facilities support, including those for farm equipment, postharvest facilities, and storage, among others.

This capacity-building program is tailored for new and existing ARBs who are yet to avail loans. Adopting a more lenient set of policies and procedures in extending credit, APCP is the vehicle through which financial and technical services shall be delivered to ARBs consisting mainly of credit provisioning and capacity building to ARB organizations.

               Under this program, ARBs in organizations within the top 21 high LAD provinces shall be able to develop their knowledge and competencies in engaging and managing agri-enterprises, as well as upgrade their skills on financial management thereby enhancing their credit worthiness or bankability. /cds

Cagayan AR-beneficiaries learn to make wine

Bugnay wine produced by Sunrise Agrarian
Reform Community in Gattaran, Cagayan (North)

When it comes to fruit wine, most of us commonly think only of two kinds, that is, red grape wine or white grape wine. Unfortunately, there are a lot more where fruit wines come from other than grapes. Thus, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Department ofTrade and Industry (DTI) in Cagayan province have teamed up to bring fruit wine making technology to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) as a way of earing additional income by processing commonly abundant and available fruits in their localities into wines.

Scientific studies have shown that wines from fruits are rich in antioxidants because they contain lots of vitamin A, vitamin C and other minerals like calcium , iodine , zinc, manganese , selenium, potassium, etc. Fruit wines have shown to help: (1) Prevent heart disease because it contains phenolic compounds that have antioxidant properties. There are also substances in fruit wine that inhibit the absorption of cholesterol in the blood which means unblocked arteries and veins; (2) Promote better sleep because of the presence of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep and the human body clock. People with Insomnia may want to drink fruit wine to have better sleep; (3) Prevent Diabetes, due to the presence of Manganese which have been shown to stabilize blood sugar in the body. It also helps against free radical damage; (4) Control blood pressure because of its potassium and melatonin content, in addition to its fiber content which helps clean up the blood vessels by facilitating the removal of fat; (5) Inhibit cancer cells due to its antioxidant properties, that is, there are compounds that hinder the growth of cancer cells in the body; (6) Promote the formation of healthy gums, increase endurance, etc., due to its high vitamin C content. It is also believed that fruit wines have aphrodisiac properties. 

Under the fruit wine making project, the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) in Cagayan province have agreed to process and produce fruit-based wines for sale to the public bearing one common label. This activity shall expand and increase the availability of fruit wines in the province, presently dominated by the Bugnay Wine from Sunrise Agrarian Reform Community (Sunrise ARC) in Gattaran, Cagayan. An Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) is a barangay at the minimum or a cluster of contiguous barangays where there is a critical mass of farmers and farm workers awaiting the full implementation of agrarian reform. The farmers and the farm workers will anchor the integrated development of the area.

However, Sunrise ARC is experiencing difficulties in meeting the demands for  fruit wine as it is hampered by limited productivity. It is expected the gap in the supply and demand chain can now be filled up by the other ARBOs producing a number of different kinds of fruit wines in the province. According to Virgilio M. Acasili, Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer II of DARPO Cagayan-Batanes, the activity is expected to generate additional income for ARBs in the province and spur allied enterprises such as the expanded volume of fruits being traded in the province in addition to other industries which the project may add such as processing of other fruits into vinegar, dried or candied fruit business, etc.  /cds

The sweet Bugnay Wine of Sunrise Agrarian Reform Community

SUNRISE AGRARIAN REFORM COMMUNITY (Sunrise ARC) in Gattaran, Cagayan produces bugnay wine as a livelihood activity in addition to farming. The ARC is abundant in bugnay fruit wherein the old folks in the community commonly used as a remedy for arthritis, as a cleansing drink to cure imbalances in the body, etc.

Bugnay or Antidesma bunius L. is an edible fruit that dangle in bunches of 40-50 oviod-shaped fruits like small berries and grapes. It is easily mistaken for wild berries or grapes due to its color and size. Bugnay grows in the mountains and is native to the Philippines due to its tropical climate. From yellowish green to pale yellow or bright red to almost black when it is ripe, it is usually abundant from June to September.

It has acquired a higher value as a raw material for wine due to the increasing awareness of the benefits of red wine and has become an alternative to the more expensive imported wines.

A study has established that bugnay wine has phytochemicals, flavonoids, catechin, proyanidins (Procyanidins are  compounds found in red wine that are good for the blood vessels and considered as one of the factors attributed to the long life spans of the people from the southwest of France and Sardinia), vitamin B1 and B2.

The bugnay fruit, according to studies, possibly has compounds with potential cytotoxic properties and methanolic activities. It is rich in anti-oxidants and anti-carcinogenic properties. The anti-oxidants in bugnay wine, like red wine is said to reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease. The alcohol content of bugnay wine also inhibits fat deposits in the arteries, reducing the occurrence of atherosclerosis or arteriosclerotic vascular disease.

After undergoing some training on fruit wine production, the members of the Sunrise Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Gattaran, Cagayan started to process and produce bugnay wine as a cooperative business which proved to be a lucrative endeavour as demand for their bugnay wine has increased.

It is being promoted in trade fairs where is one of the fast selling items. Production, however, is limited by the seasons as bugnay fruit is not available all year round.  However, whenever it is abundant, it is harvested and immediately processed resulting to increase in income of the cooperative. By:christiandsales