THE bamboo stick production of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Bukidnon will soon be boosted after receiving P1.5-million worth of bamboo stick-making machines and equipment from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Mohammad Abdul Jabbar M. Pandapatan, DAR-Bukidnon Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II, said the machine and equipment were provided to the 82 ARBs-members of the Abejed Multi-Purpose Cooperative (AMPC) in Tugop, San Fernando, Bukidnon, under the DTI-CARP Village Level Farm Focused Enterprise Development (VLFED) Project.

Pandapatan said that the move is aimed to capacitate the cooperative to profitably operate and manage their own farm business.

Aside from the DAR and DENR, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the local government unit of San Fernando are also part of the program.

Pandapatan also disclosed that aside from the machine and equipment, the DAR contributed P240,000 to enhance the shared service facility and conducted a series of bamboo-related capacity development training with partner agencies.

“The DENR provided bamboo seedlings, inputs, and labor provision while the LGU of San Fernando provided construction materials for the facility,” he said.

Pandapatan explained that the launching and commissioning of the bamboo stick production facility are just the beginning of the support to be provided by the DAR to the AMPC.

Meanwhile, Purita S. Intes, chairperson of the AMPC, thanked the DAR and its partner agencies for the assistance given to the cooperative.

She recalled how as a small cooperative they have struggled financially just to procure the lot where the processing center was built.

“Through the cooperative’s commitment to pursue and transform the bamboo stick production into a business enterprise and with the support of the line agencies, we were able to turn that dream into a reality,” she said.

The VLFED project aims to enhance the products of the ARBs using appropriate facilities and equipment applicable to the agri-business enterprise.

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Cory Martinez