The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has turned over assorted vegetable seeds along with drip irrigation system facilities worth P402,901 to groups of farmers in Alamada, North Cotabato.
Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Rodolfo Alburo, said the agri-productivity interventions were provided to help the vegetable growers enhance their farm yields.
A total of 127 farmers will directly benefit from the project.
“The sustaining project, implemented under the department’s Linking Smallholder Farmers to Markets and Microfinance [LinkSFarMM] program, is being coursed through the four DAR-assisted organizations,” he said in a statement.
Alburo identified the recipient organizations as the Rangayen Vegetable Growers Association (RVGA), Rangayen Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) Association, Matin-ao Integrated Farmers Association, and Dimaampao Native Inhabitants ARB Cooperative.
Emelita Mayol, Chief of agrarian reform beneficiaries development support program, said this support from LinkSFarMM is expected to boost the productivity and profitability of the farmers, especially the ARBs.
LinkSFarMM is an innovative program of the DAR to make smallholder farmers increase agricultural productivity and effectively manage their agricultural production by applying a value chain process.
Metodio Ybañez, RVGA president, said they are grateful for the additional assistance provided by the DAR as they are planning to cultivate about 10-hectare vegetable production area to supply the needs and demands of the local markets and neighboring municipalities.
The delivery of inputs was witnessed by DAR-Commission on Audit Auditor Urduja Untal, Provincial Agrarian Reform Committee Representative Alyn Leysa and project staff of DAR provincial office and DAR Alamada municipal office.