What do the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) do?

A one-minute video which explains how and why the International Monetary Fund (aka IMF) and the World Bank were formed, what they're supposed to do and how people currently perceive them.

What Is The International Monetary Fund (IMF)?

What Does The World Bank Actually Do?

LINK: DAR-World Bank Inclusive Partnership for AgriculturalCompetitiveness (IPAC) project.

Calayan Island Airport to open 2019

The construction of a new airport is about to be completed in barangay Dadao, municipality of Calayan Island, in Cagayan province. The new airport has a 1,000m long runway and was started (bidding) in September 2015 with an estimated cost of Php9.4 million which is part the Php241 million Airport Development Project of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC, now DOTr).  The construction of the new airport includes the development of apron area and shoulder grade correction. An airport apron is the parking area for aircraft, also for unloading, loading and refueling. It is likewise the space where passengers board the aircraft.

The municipality of Calayan Island is located in the north of Luzon Island in the Philippines and is composed of four islands of the Babuyan Islands namely: Calayan, Camiguin, Dalupiri and Babuyan Island.  Calayan Island being the biggest of the Babuyan Islands (Fuga Island, the 5^th Island in the Channel is part of the municipality of Aparri).

Calayan Island was established as a mission headquarters by the Spaniards in 1722. It was then part of Batanes group of Islands and was brought under the administration of Cagayan province in 1896. Calayan is politically subdivided into 12 barangays: Babuyan Claro, Balatubat, Cabudadan, Centro II, Dadao (site of the new airport), Dalupiri, Dibay, Dilam, Magsidel, Minabel, Naguilian and Poblacion/Centro I.

Calayan Island is presently accessible only by small outrigger boats called “Lampitaw” from Aparri, Claveria or San Vicente Port in Santa Ana and takes seven hours to reach Calayan if the sea is calm. The best time to travel to and from the Island is during the summer months April and May where tourism activities are most active.

Earlier, the Bagabag Airport in Nueva Vizcaya was recently opened for commercial flights The Calayan Airport in barangay Dadao would be the second airport to open in Cagayan Valley for the year 2017 under the “Build, Build, Build” program of the Duterte Administration. The P241.23 million project funded by the DOTr will eventually provide an alternative mode of transportation and increase tourist arrivals resulting to increased economic and tourism activities.

Northsky Air, operator of a fleet of six-seater airtaxi aircraft based in Tuguegarao has already signified its intention to include Calayan Island as one of their flight destinations after the opening the new airport. It is now working out the required permits in time for the start of regular operations of the airport.

LATEST NEWS: Calayan Island airport opens

                          Calayan Island, known for pristine white beaches, opens airport

DAR grants Nabbotuan MPC Php257k for Muscovado sugar processing

     The Department of Agrarian Reform Provincial Office (DARPO) of Cagayan-Batanes led the ground breaking ceremony of the Nabbotuan Multi-Purpose Cooperative in barangay Nabbotuan, Solana, Cagayan wherein the later is a recipient of Two Hundred Fifty-Seven Thousand and Five Hundred pesos as funding for the construction/expansion of their Muscovado Sugar processing center under the DAR’s Village Level Processing Center and Enhancement Project (VLPCEP).

     The ceremony was also attended by the very supportive officials of the Local Government Unit of Solana headed by Mayor Jenalyn Carag. Barangay officials of Nabbotuan also warmly welcomed the project as an indication of increasing capacity of women and men to participate in, contribute to and benefit from growth processes in ways that recognise the value of their contributions, respect their dignity and making it possible to negotiate a fairer distribution of the benefits of growth vis-à-vis their local economy.

     Nabbotuan MPC is an agrarian reform organization (ARBO) within the FURABAN Agrarian Reform Community. The Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) Development Strategy was adopted in 1993 to focus on priority agrarian reform areas to maximize resource allocation, complementation, and mobilization for greater efficiency and impact taking into consideration the limited financial and material resources of the government.

      An ARC is a barangay or cluster of contiguous barangays within a municipality where majority of the CARP-covered lands have been awarded to a critical mass of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs).  The ARC strategy applies the integrated area development approach where the ARBs and their communities are the primary focal points of development interventions.

     Once completed, the processing center shall help increase the livelihood of the members of the cooperative.  They will process raw sugar into Muscovado sugar which commands a higher price due to its higher demand by reason of its health benefits.

     Muscovado sugar is the unrefined dark brown sugar that is more sticky and courser than the regular brown sugar. It is the instantaneous sugar created in crystallizing sugarcane juice. In contrast with other sugars, Muscovado sugar has a distinctive flavor and taste that retains the natural flavor and color of the sugarcane juice, as such it is also considered as the purest form of sugar. It also retains the natural nutrients such as calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, iron, zinc and other vitamins. It is also rich in phytonutrients, antioxidants, proteins, fiber, etc., with are usually destroyed by filtering, bleaching and heating during the production of the regular refined white sugar.

     The VLPCEP aims to develop market competitive Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) products and enhance enterprise and livelihood activities at the community level in selected agrarian reform areas through assistance in product value-adding, improvement of facilities, and assistance in documentation and Food and Drug Administration license application. The implementation of the project is part of the mandate of DAR to provide support services to ARCs.

     Under the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) executed between the DAR and the ARBO, the members of the cooperative shall manage and maintain the processing center, keep and maintain the recording system for the activity, and shall ensure the continuous production of Muscovado sugar as an additional business enterprise of the cooperative.  

See: photos on Facebook

Solar Pump Irrigation Projects for Cagayan North ARBs

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (DA-BSWM) have completed the ground validation of three sites in Cagayan province for the construction and implementation of Solar Pump Irrigation Systems for agrarian reform beneficiaries in the province costing approximately P877,500.00 per site.

     It was during a trip to Aparri, Cagayan Valley where Department of Agricultute Secretary Emmanuel Pinol found out the irony of so much available water in the vast Cagayan River but rice fields just beside it were dry and unproductive during summer months.

     On December 23, 2016 the DAR through Secretary Rafael "Ka Paeng" Mariano and the DA-BSWM signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the implementation of the Solar Pump Irrigation System project, wherein DAR provided funds for the project in the amount of fifteen million pesos and DA through the BSWM to undertake planning of development of small scale irrigation projects intended to enhance farm productivity and as adaptation measures to Climate Change that will benefit agrarian reform beneficiaries to achieve climate change resiliency.

     There are three identified pilot sites to be managed by agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (ARBOs) in Cagayan: (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.  

     The identified project areas earlier passed the criteria set to sustain the projects as these areas are planted with vegetable crops and have existing deep well water facilities for farms indicating the potential availability of ground water sources. The ARBOs are likewise established and technically capable of sustaining the project.

     The DAR-DA-BSWM Solar Pump Irrigation System project is being implemented pursuant to Republic Act 9729, known as the Climate Change Act wherein it mandates government to take effective actions to mitigate the effects climate change. It calls for collective action among government agencies to pursue climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, to implement programs and projects to lead communities toward resiliency amidst the risks and vulnerabilities brought about by climate change.

     Under the Solar Pump Irrigation System project, the pilot ARBOs shall be provided with solar panels and control accessories that will generate solar energy. Submersible water pumps shall also be provided to draw water from underground or open source. A water tank to store the water shall also be constructed that will include pipe layout system to distribute water for its intended use. The projects are expected to be operational by end of July 2017. There are also other project sites in Isabela and in Region 1. 

Solar panels for ARBOs. 

     Solar energy is a growing technology and a viable source of renewable energy for operating irrigation systems in the countryside. It is cheaper than conventional fossil-based generated power system. It is sustainable and does not contribute to carbon emission which is the main source of global warming.

CABAYABASAN ARB COOP COOKS WITH FREE UNLI METHANE GAS

Another agrarian reform beneficiary organization (ARBO), that is, Cabayabasan Farmers Credit Cooperative in the Nueva Segovia Agrarian Reform Community in Lallo, Cagayan province is now enjoying the benefits of the Department of Agrarian Reform’s CPWASH project.

Methane is an important natural gas commonly used for fuel and electricity generation. 

A CPWASH is a potable water project implemented by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) which stands for Community-Managed Potable Water Supply and Hygiene project. It is a regular project being undertaken by DAR to install low-cost water supply technology and sanitation systems that provides safe, clean and potable water for the agrarian reform beneficiary households in Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs).

The first chamber of the bio-gas digester.

A CPWASH project is composed of four sub-projects, that is: (1) the rain water collector to hoard and store rainwater to be recycled before it reaches the aquifer; (2) the bio-sand filter to remove pathogens and suspended particles and reduce discoloration, odor and unpleasant taste; (3) the iron removal filter, to filter iron from the water to eliminate staining, the unpleasant smell and taste of the water; and (4) the bio-gas digester to convert organic waste into usable fuel. Funds for the projects are sourced from DAR and some counterpart from the LGU and the proponent cooperative/ARBO.

The second chamber of the bio-gas digester under construction. 

Unlimited bio-gas fuel for cooking is now available for the beneficiaries through the methane from the bio-gas digester. The raw materials for methane production comes from the animal waste of swine raised by the ARBs. As such, significantly large costs for cooking fuel is saved by ARBs. The ARB households have also stopped the traditional use of firewood as fuel for cooking in the community. The output from the digester (digested waste) can also be used as a high quality organic liquid fertilizer which can be sold for farmers at a much lower price than commercial fertilizers.

The second chamber being attached to the first chamber bio-gas digester which is later cemented. 

Farmers who have completed the CPWASH hands-on training will also be given Certificates of Training as Para-Engineers and can be summoned to build other CPWASH facility on other sites, which is another business opportunity for them or their cooperatives. 

The completed and installed operational bio-gas digester already producing methane gas fuel.

Installing the water filters.  Photos courtesy of Engr. Domingo Garello

Inspecting the Bio-gas facility, now the source of unlimited earth-friendly fuel gas for cooking.

Trying out the improvised gas burner. 

Turn-over by DARPO Cagayan to LGU Lallo of Kabayabas CPWASH Project. 

Inspecting the potable water after passing through the Iron Removal Filter. 

Photos courtesy of: Engr. Domingo Garello, Ms. Emely Salvatierra and Ms. Issandra Miguel

Flying fish processing center rises via VLPCEP center

Itbud, Uyugan,Batanes – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) recently launched the Village Level Processing Center Enhancement Project (VLPCEP) for the Milagrosa Multi-Purpose Cooperative, an agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) cooperative engaged in the processing of flying fish into bottled Spanish sardines.

Milagrosa MPC received a grant from the DAR amounting to P180,000.00 for the construction their fish processing center consisting of a 3.33m X 5.0m corrugated GI sheet building under the VLPCEP. The VLPCEP project is designed primarily to enhance the existing processing center with development support initiative for ARB cooperatives and other ARB organizations (ARBO), improve their capability to produce quality processed products that are highly competitive in the mainstream market including services to its members.

Further, it helps develop market- competitive Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organization (ARBO) products through product development (e.g., labelling, packaging designs, etc.) and enrich enterprise and livelihood activities at the community level in the selected agrarian reform areas. The VLPCEP is also intended to develop homegrown products for better opportunities and linkage to potential markets.

Aside from processing flying fish into bottled Spanish sardines, the Milagrosa MPC also processes one-day old flying fish, a popular delicacy only found in Batanes, so called because the flying fish is set to dry for one day on hot stones under the sun. Also, they process the flying fish into fish balls and fish lumpia.

DAR will continue to provide capability building and skills enhancement including monitoring to sustain the project. It has also coordinated with other CARP implementing agencies such as the: Bureau of Food and Drugs for quality assurance and for Milagrosa MPC to be duly registered with BFAD and avail a license; Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will also conduct trainings for cooperators and assists in the marketing aspect. Other agencies such as DOLE and DOST are likewise involved in the project. 

Links: 

Milagrosa MPC Fish Processing Center

Batanes "Dibang" one-day old flying fish

Famous Food Delicacies in Batanes

Ivatan ARBs resort to rainwater harvesting for veggie farms

The members of the San Joaquin Agrarian ReformBeneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative (San Joaquin ARB-MPC) in barangay San Antonio, Basco, Batanes have found a way to harvest and store rainwater to supply the much needed fresh water for their vegetable farms during periods where water supply is scarce such as droughts and during months of insufficient rainfall in the typhoon path island province of Batanes in northern Philippines. The situation is further complicated as the available land for these vegetable farms are also located right beside the shores of the great Pacific Ocean.

The San Joaquin ARB-MPC is an agrarian reform beneficiary organization located within the San Antonio Agrarian Reform Community (San Antonio ARC). An 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.

Rainwater harvesting is the practice of collecting rainwater for household water use, additionally, water for livestock and small irrigation. Also, it is a means to replenish groundwater levels. The common mode of rainwater harvesting is through rooftop rainwater harvesting projects. This activity addresses issues of ground water depletion brought about in part by global warming. There are reasons for ground water depletion such as: (1) Increasing demand of ground water; (2) Extracting more than recharge; (3) Reduction of recharge area due to infrastructure, road asphalting/concreting, (4) Shrinking surface water bodies; and (5) Uncertain rainfall due to climate change.

For centuries the town of Venice depended on rainwater harvesting because the lagoon surrounding Venice is made of brackish water which is not suitable for human drinking. The ancient residents of Venice developed a system of rainwater collection in order to have water to drink. As Venice acquired territories on the mainland, it started to import water by boat from local rivers.

At present, rainwater harvesting is being practiced around the world to counter the effects of climate change and has been adopted and intensified in other countries such as in Bermuda, where they have a law that requires all new construction to include rainwater harvesting adequate for the residents. The U.S. Virgin Islands also have a similar law. In Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, there are houses that are frequently equipped with homemade rainwater harvesters. In Myanmar, the groundwater is saline and communities rely on mud-lined rainwater ponds to meet their drinking water needs throughout the dry season. Some of these ponds are centuries old and are treated with great reverence and respect. In New Mexico, rainwater catchment is mandatory for new dwellings in Santa Fe. In the USA, Texas offers a sales tax exemption on the purchase of rainwater harvesting equipment. Oklahoma passed a law in 2012, to promote pilot projects for rainwater use among other water saving techniques. In Beijing, some housing societies are now adding rainwater in their main water sources after proper treatment (source: Wikipedia). 

The rainwater harvesting facility operated by the San Joaquin Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative (San Joaquin ARB-MPC) in barangay San Antonio, Basco, Batanes was constructed through the initiative of the Local Government Unit (LGU) under the Bottom-Up Budgeting/Grassroots Participatory Budgeting (BUB-GPB) program with a cost of P1.9 million. It has provided the agrarian reform beneficiaries an opportunity to make the land productive and consequently increased their income. 

The rainwater harvesting facility helps mitigate the devastating effects of climate change and provides some relief for agrarian reform beneficiaries engaged in organic vegetable production. 

DAR Region 02 Regional Director Homer P. Tobias, CESO III, climbing to the roof to inspect the rainwater harvesting facility of the San Joaquin ARB-MPC. 

Rainwater collects on the roof and is stored in these tanks for future use. 

Freshwater always made available through the rainwater harvesting facility for vegetable farms like these situated along the Pacific Ocean. 

The P1.9 million BUB-GPB funded rainwater harvesting facility of San Joaquin ARB-MPC in barangay San Antonio, Basco, Batanes.

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

PANAGBENGA FESTIVAL 2017

Panagbenga Festival (Flower Festival in English) is a month-long annual flower festival in Baguio City held every February as a tribute to the city’s flowers. It has also found significance as a representation of the people’s rise against the devastation experienced during the 1990 earthquake. Highlight of the festival are floats covered with flowers rivaling those in Pasadena, California’s Rose Parade.  The celebration also features street dancing themed after the different cultural traditions of the Cordillera indigenous people with flower inspired costumes.

The festival is a major activity in Baguio that continues to attract local and foreign tourists and has significantly contributed to the local economy of the city. 

Schedule of activites for Panagbenga Festival 2017