THE livelihood activities of agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organization (ARBO) in Misamis Occidental is expected to improve with the turn-over of P1.06 million worth of farm machinery and farm inputs.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said the facilities were awarded to the Southern Poblacion Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Beneficiaries’ Association (CARPBA).

This activity is in line with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through the leadership of DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III, to improve the lives of farmers in the countryside.

The farm machinery and farm inputs include a single-pass rice mill worth P365,000; three floating tillers (mud boats), P240,000; two hand tractors with trailers, P250,000; six knapsack sprayers P16,800; and P210,000 worth of fertilizers and pesticides.

Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Mohammad Abdul Jabbar Pandapatan urged the ARB to be more responsible in the maintenance of the facilities and maximize their uses.

Southern Poblacion CARPBA President Pura Bolodo, on the other hand, thanked the DAR for the facilities as she enjoined her members to use the support they received productively.

The turned-over projects were implemented under the DAR’s Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support Project (CRFPSP)-Major Crop-Based Block Farm Productivity Enhancement, which aims to enhance and sustain the agricultural productivity of agrarian reform communities as an adaptation measure towards climate change resiliency.

During the ceremony, a trust agreement was also signed between the DAR and the association.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Cory Martinez