COTABATO CITY – To help augment the income of the beneficiaries and increase fish production in the region, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has provided P1.5 million worth of agriculture and fisheries support services to a Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) cooperative in Mangudadatu municipality in Maguindanao province.
About 50 members of the Maman Kalilintad Farmers and Fisherfolks Producers Cooperative from Barangay Paitan in Mangudadatu received agri-fishery equipment and inputs that include 1.7 million tilapia fingerlings, fresh-water fish cages, feeds and fishing boats.
The livelihood project is under the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program, a national government initiative that extends development interventions to isolated, hard-to-reach, and conflict-affected communities to reduce poverty, improve governance and empower communities.
Dong Anayatin, PAMANA-ARMM program manager, said that since 2013, the ARMM’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-ARMM) has extended P61 million worth of agriculture and fisheries support services across the region to benefit MNLF members.
Agri-fishery equipment and inputs given to the cooperatives include fishing boats, motorized banca, non-motorized fishing banca, seaweed farming inputs, cold storages and fish aggregating devices.
“The livelihood assistance can generate additional income to the fisherfolks,” Anayatin said. He also reiterated that PAMANA will help provide the needs of the MNLF communities by giving livelihood assistance to improve their lives.
“Masela i pakadtabang nu inenggay nilan a mga tilapia (The distribution of tilapia fingerlings is a big help to us),” Ronel Linlungan, 42 year-old, member of the cooperative said.
“Pedsukol kami kanu ARMM government ka niyapamba natabangan kami nilan (We are very thankful to the ARMM government because this is the first time that we received support services from the government),” Linlungan added.
Based on the PAMANA report, out of the 180 MNLF cooperatives enrolled in the program, a total of 135 cooperatives were already served. The 45 remaining are those classified under the third batch approved for assistance by the PAMANA Steering Committee.
The PAMANA program was first implemented in the ARMM in 2011 through the national agencies. In 2013, the implementation of projects in the region has been lodged to the Office of the Regional Governor.
Line agencies that serve as the program’s implementing partners in the ARMM include the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. (Bureau of Public Information)
20
