Members of TAMAFA, Community Chairman, and representatives from DA APCO, DA-SAAD, and MAO Magsaysay attended the turnover ceremony held at the TAMAFA’s equipment housing in SItio Talayob, Brgy. Nicolas, Magsaysay.
SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro (PIA) — The Department of Agriculture-Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) MIMAROPA awarded Php 926,666.00 worth of post-harvest equipment to an Indigenous People (IP) farmers association (FA) in Magsaysay, Occidental Mindoro, providing accessible milling services to farmers in the community.
One (1) unit of village-type rice mill was delivered to Talayob Mangyan FA in Sitio Talayob, Brgy. Nicolas. It is a mountainous area near the boundaries of Magsaysay and Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro.
Louie Limos, Chairperson of TAMAFA shared during the turn-over that having their own rice mill will be a great help for their members and their community as their area is far from the town center.
“Malaking biyaya po ito para sa amin kasi sa malayo pa kami nagpapagiling [ng inaning palay] noon. Pahirapan kasi malayo ang gilingan, lalo na kapag tag-ulan dahil wala kaming konkretong daan. Ngayon na mayroon na kaming sariling rice mill, hindi na kami mahihirapan,” Limos said.
(The [rice mill] is a huge blessing for us as we had to travel far to have our rice milled before. It is difficult as the available mill was far, especially during wet season as we do not have concrete roads. Now that we have our own rice mill, it will be easier for us.)
During the turnover ceremony, DA-SAAD Area Coordinator Oliver Cosme shared that the Program hopes to see the association as a successful enterprise in the future through the project.
“Pangarap ng SAAD sa [TAMAFA] na maging isang Community-Based Enterprise [sa tulong ng] tinanggap nilang proyekto. Sana kumita ng tuloy-tuloy at malaki [ang kitain].”
(SAAD dreams to see TAMAFA as a Community-Based Enterprise through the project. We hope that the group flourishes.)
Municipal Agriculturist Richard Ochavez encouraged the beneficiaries to maximize the use, and take good care of the equipment.
Tamafa became a beneficiary of DA-SAAD in 2020 under the Upland Rice Production Project which aims to boost traditional rice production in the community. Their association, comprising 45 members, received Php 2.4M worth of interventions such as planting materials, farm equipment, and inputs. They also underwent capability building on traditional rice production under the said project.
The group cultivates a cumulative estimated area of 30 hectares of land for traditional rice production as their main crop and livelihood. (DSG/PIA MIMAROPA)
