ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE – The Department of Agrarian Reform and the Korean Rural Community Corporation recently held the ARCP2-KRCC Assessment Survey of Potential Agri-Enterprise Public-Private Partnership with the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations in Zamboanga del Norte Resettlement Agrarian Reform Communities.
ARCP2 refers to the Agrarian Reform Community Project II which is funded by the Asian Development Bank and its long-term development goal is to reduce poverty in about 152 ARC clusters located in southern Philippines. It aims to contribute to sustained improvements in the incomes of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries and non-ARBs and in the quality of life in the ARC.
The ARCP2 is designed to provide development investment in the different components namely – the community-driven development as a lead component to mobilize the community, strengthen the organizational processes, improve governance and build stronger platform for sustainability. Agriculture and Enterprise development to increase productivity and profitability of income generating activities, develop and improve markets and market linkages, and promote agribusiness.
Leon Postigo Mayor Ruperto Jamora praised DAR for bringing KRCC delegation headed by Dr. Choi Ho Jin to his town. He said the activity is an opportunity for KRCC to see the real condition of the farmers in the ARC cluster for appropriate intervention to enhance their production capability and to develop product competitiveness with the other countries.
Aside from Leon Postigo, the town of Salug also thanked DAR and local Mayor Jeoffrey Lim has urged his constituents to cooperate and support DAR through KRCC, saying he considers the visit of the Koreans as an opportunity to help alleviate the economic lives of the ARCP2 project beneficiaries.
Salug and Leon Postigo are pre-dominantly planted with coconut trees while Tampilisan and Godod towns are pre-dominantly planted with rubber trees.
In another forum, Rizzel Villanueva, the provincial agrarian reform program officer, presented DAR’s Cluster Development Framework for Leon Postigo, Salug, Godod and Tampilisan towns.
Julita Ragandang, DAR Regional Director for Western Mindanao, also urged farmers to organize among themselves into a cooperative to have easy access to support services of the agency. She pointed out that the assessment is just an initial step towards the realization of the implementation of agri-enterprise development of the project.
“We have already accomplished the land acquisition, distribution and agrarian justice delivery and is now focusing on the agri-enterprise development component of the project,” Ragandang said.
Luz Ani, Agriculture and Enterprise Development Specialist and ARCP Consultant, said the forum was just an assessment and aimed at getting first hand information from the farmer-beneficiaries on the support they need to make them more productive.
Among the support services needed by the farmers in the ARC cluster include farm-to-market roads, farm inputs, modern farming technologies and post harvest facilities.
Lim and Jamora expressed optimism the consultation will have a positive impression among the Korean visitors and bring necessary intervention to improve the production efficiency of the farmers and bring their products to intentional market. (Mindanao Examiner)
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