SURIGAO DEL SUR -- In preparation for the implementation of Better Access and Connectivity (BEACON) project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), area validations were recently conducted in the municipalities of Marihatag, Barobo, Tagbina, and Lingig, all in Surigao del Sur.
A productive convergence took place between DAR-Caraga and the team from USAID to plan out and come up with a smooth validation process to the four remote towns in Surigao del Sur as beneficiary sites of the BEACON project. (Photo courtesy to DAR-Caraga)
John Avila, an economic growth specialist at USAID, said the BEACON project is primarily designed to provide connectivity to the unserved and underserved communities so they have access to communication and internet-enabled services.
“We have a grant mechanism under the BEACON project to support community networks to use a variety of technologies—mostly terrestrial, but some of them also use satellites. In June 2023, we just provided Internet connectivity to a small barangay composed of 150 families in a very remote barangay in Aurora province and in Butuan City to also help with connectivity issues there,” Avila added.
With this, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Caraga took the lead in providing manpower assistance to the validators who were tasked with doing the legwork of the activity on potential farmer beneficiaries in Surigao del Sur.
During the area validation in Surigao del Sur, personnel from DAR-Caraga and USAID visited and interviewed a farmer beneficiary to build up data analysis necessary for the implementation of the BEACON project. (Photo courtesy to DAR-Caraga)
DAR Caraga regional director Merlita S. Capinpuyan warmly welcomed the validators, saying, “This breakthrough will enhance the capacity of our farmer organizations to be recognized as players in digital agriculture and expand their market globally through connectivity and reliable internet in the target areas of the province."
Dir. Capinpuyan also revealed that the BEACON project in Surigao del Sur received strong collaboration from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Kacific Satellite Broadband, a next-generation broadband satellite operator, with a target installation schedule and operationalization in the province by the first quarter of 2024.
The government of the United States of America, through USAID, formally launched on October 28, 2021, the BEACON project to increase digital connectivity in the country. This five-year project valued at P1.65 billion will promote economic growth through better information and communications technology (ICT) that will help bridge the digital divide in the Philippines. (NGPB, PIA-Surigao del Sur with a report from DAR-Caraga)
