DAVAO CITY (PIA) — The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Region XI has strengthened its mandate to extend support services to its agrarian reform beneficiaries, including upgrading of livelihood skills and provision of necessary technical assistance in support of their productivity and improvement in their income.
For the period July 2022 to May 31, 2024, a total of 74,841 ARBs have been capacitated with various skills and knowledge related to enhancing farming productivity, DAR XI regional director Atty. Jazon E. Collado cited in his report during Tuesday’s Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas.
Collado reported that the agency has provided 24,261 ARBs with access to credit and micro-finance, while 506 ARBs have been extended with technical, enterprise, farm support, and physical infrastructure support.
Since the assumption of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., the DAR XI has also awarded farm machinery and equipment to a total of 30 ARB organizations from across the Davao region.
This has led to 3,325 ARBs benefiting from said interventions, with a total cost of P24,061,686.22, Collado said.
He said that these interventions are implemented under DAR’s Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development and Sustainability Program (ARBDSP), which aims to provide support services to ARBs, and smallholder farmers and their ARBOs, “to enable them to become more productive, enterprising, and grow into vibrant players in community undertakings.”
Under the Social Infrastructure Building (SIB), 26 ARBOs located in disaster affected areas, have been provided with sustainable livelihood support benefiting 1,628 ARBs (869 male and 759 female).
Various farm machineries have been provided to the ARBO-recipients, such as three-wheeled motorized farm delivery vehicle (11 units); three-wheeled vehicle (one unit); hand tractor with implement (one unit); three-wheeled motorcycle (one unit); knapsack sprayer (one unit); shredder and egg incubator (one unit); egg machine (14 kits); multi-tilling machine (14 units); table processing equipment (one unit). and upright freezer (one unit).
DAR Region XI has also provided 864 heads of ready-to-lay chicken layer with cage.
The distributed farm machineries and equipment has a total funding of P6,375,520.00.
SIB, one of its sub-programs, focuses on strengthening existing ARBOs and formation of new ARBOs.
Still under ARBDSP, four ARBOs and 130 ARBs (97 male and 33 female) were aided farm machineries amounting to P2,584,800.00 through the Agrarian Reform Fund.
These farm machineries include: two units corn thresher; two units sheller; two units husker; one unit rice combined harvested; and two units floating tiller.
Under another component, the Community Potable Water System and Hygiene (CPWASH) has provided potable water systems to two ARBOs, benefiting 72 ARBs (43 male and 29 female), while two units of WATSAN Facilities BIO-GAS Digester have also been distributed. These interventions amounted to P94,850.00.
In keeping the promise of President Marcos to empower, support, and revitalize the agrarian reform sector, “the DAR XI has adhered to this plan in keeping with its vision to realize a region of progressive rural communities and economically self-sufficient ARBs with actual tenurial security, appropriate and adequate support services, and whose rights and welfare are protected under the law,” Collado stated. (CLC/PIA Davao Region)
