TESDA, Army chiefs
lay down peace interventions
By Robert E. Roperos
BUTUAN CITY, July 27 -- Peace interventions are now put in place by the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)-Agusan del Norte
Provincial Office and the Philippine Army’s 23rd Infantry Battalion (23IB)
under its new leaders.
The development came after TESDA-Agusan del Norte Provincial Director
Rey M. Cueva recently paid a courtesy visit to the 23IB headed by Lt. Col. Julius
Cesar C. Paulo.
During the meeting of the two officials, Dir. Cueva presented the
interventions that TESDA is offering to communities that are considered Peace
Development Zones (PDZs). He also pointed out that former rebels (FRs) are one
of the special clients that TESDA is serving, in support to the implementation
of EO 70 institutionalizing a whole-of-nation approach in attaining inclusive
and sustainable peace.
Through this, the official said the “TESDA Abot Lahat” slogan of the
agency was conceptualized following the directive of Sec. Isidro S. LapeΓ±a
which anchors on EO 70.
For his part, Lt. Col. Paulo welcomed the newly-assigned provincial
director and ensure its continuous partnership with TESDA. For the past years,
TESDA has been closely working with the Philippine Army’s 23rd IB in the
implementation of skills trainings and livelihood programs to FRs and the
Indigenous Peoples (IPs).
Paolo stressed that a number of FRs are currently in their custody. They
will be resettled in resettlement areas dubbed as “Masigasig Village for Peace”
(MVP) which will be constructed in the following areas: MVP-1 in Sitio Bulak in
Brgy. Lower Olave in Buenavista town; MVP-2 in Brgy. Hinandayan in Nasipit; and
MVP-3 in Sitio Bukbokan in Brgy. Lawan-lawan, Las Nieves, all in Agusan del
Norte. While in the village, the community will develop a farm as a form of
livelihood.
The official further said that Agusan del Norte 2nd District Cong. Ma.
Angelica Rosedell Amante-Matba and Agusan del Norte Governor Dale B. Corvera
have already committed to provide construction materials for the resettlement
village.
Together with Dir. Cueva are the Vocational School Administrator II of
the Northern Mindanao School of Fisheries (NMSF) Mr. Romel M. Natad whose
trainers are regularly handling skills trainings in the 23IB, and Buenafe G.
Enaya, Supervising TESD Specialist of TESDA-Agusan del Norte Provincial Office.
(TESDA Agusan del Norte/PIA Agusan del Norte)
Agrarian groups
prosper amidst pandemic
By Gil E. Miranda
BUTUAN CITY, July 27 -- While the rest of the agrarian-organizations’
groan in the face of the recession due to coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic,
some of them were appeared unaffected.
The Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) in Agusan del
Norte are the Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR's) assisted organizations to
continue their marketing activities during the impact on travel restrictions by
issuing quarantine accreditation pass within and outside of the region.
Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II (PARPO II) Andre B. Atega,
CESO V, said that the farmer-organizations, as frontliners in food sufficiency,
remained profitable, which recorded millions of pesos in gross sales.
In a Facebook post, PARPO II Atega said that nothing deters our
cooperatives and the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) in Agusan del Norte
to continue marketing their products to markets.
Planning Officer Annelyn R. Chan, Provincial Project coordinator of the
Project ConVERGE, said that like the case of the San Isidro Upland Farmers
Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SIUFMULCO) in Santiago town, the cooperative,
a Project ConVERGE assisted organization, continuously marketing their abaca
fiber product during the pandemic.
Chan said that SIUFMULCO successfully took a number of deliveries during
locked-down across Caraga region and earned a gross sales of more than
P37-million from abaca fiber sold to a market center in Baybay, Leyte.
“Despite the challenge, the effort of partner-agencies on deliveries of
abaca fiber was covered by certifications from the Department of Agriculture
(DA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Philippines Fiber
Development Authority (Phil-FIDA),” Chan added.
SIUFMULCO Manager Leonila Mila said that the volume traded from March to
June reached up to 535.684 metric tons or 56% increase compared from 301.38
metric tons in the first quarter this year.
The venture earned a gross income of P37-million or 57 percent increased
from a gross sales of P21-million from the first quarter, Mila added.
This was also the case of the AvanceΓ±a Beneficiaries Farmers
Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ABFMC) in Cabadbaran City and Butuan-Agusan Farmers
Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BAFMPC) that continuously supply milled-rice not
only to the regular market but also to local government units' social
amelioration program.
Both agrarian cooperatives earned profits by delivering thousands of
sacks of milled rice which made the groups earned millions of pesos in gross sales.
DAR Program Beneficiaries Development Division (PBDD) Ellen J. Torralba
said that these cooperatives have shown their effort to reach out to their
respective buyers where they could sell their produce.
In a separate interview with ABFMPC Chair Sergio Baguhin said, "We
managed to deliver 1,600 sacks of milled rice from March 30 to April 6, 2020,
which made the coop earned over Php3-million."
The BAFMPC also recorded millions of pesos in gross sales and continue
serving its members amidst the pandemic.
Another three more cooperatives, whose entrepreneurship lies on the
delivery of assorted vegetables, are the CLOA Holders and Vegetable
Producers Association (DRCHVPA) in Tubay, Agusan del Norte; the Kilometer 7
Producers Cooperative (KM. 7 PC) in Butuan City; and the De Oro Agrarian Reform
Beneficiaries Cooperative (DARBECO), of Brgy. De Oro in Butuan City.
These three cooperatives underscored by ensuring their steady supply of
vegetables to Butuan City Jail Management and Penology (BJMPC) as part of their
marketing tie-up arrangement facilitated by DAR under the Enhanced Partnership
Against Hunger and Poverty program (EPAHP). (DAR Agusan del Norte/PIA Agusan
del Norte)
Farm machineries help boost FAs soybean production in SurSur town
By Vanessa P. Sanchez
BUTUAN CITY, July 27 -- Faster, less costly, and better in quality.
These are the major changes that the members of the Meme Agricultural Farmers
Association (MAGFA) of Tago, Surigao del Sur feel in their farming operations
now that they have some farm machineries.
The Association which was organized in 2017 has 111 members who are
engaged in soybean, corn, rice, and vegetable farming. They have a total of 100
hectares planted with soybeans.
The association Chairman Annabelle Dela Fuente Loja said that soybean is
suitable in their area. “It thrives well especially here in our Barangay, in
Layug, that is why we have been planting this crop for a long time now,” she
said.
In June this year, MAGFA availed of a multi-grain thresher and a sorting
machine from the Department of Agriculture (DA) – Caraga. They also received
soybean seeds last March. They were also able to avail of a water pump back in
November 2019.
Loja narrates that their old practices in soybean farming were really
time-consuming and laborious since they used to do manual threshing by stamping
on the harvested soybeans.
“Back then, threshing 40 sacks would take us a month, but with the
multi-grain master thresher it only takes a few hours,” she said.
As for sorting, they used to do the “paligid” wherein they used plywood
on which the beans were placed to roll. “With that kind of system, we were able
to separate the beans from dirt and other materials but it was not efficient in
sorting the beans according to its sizes. Now with the sorter machine, in
addition to removing dirt, the beans are also classified according to its
sizes. Further, before with manual sorting, we can only finish 5 sacks a day,
buy now with the sorting machine, we can finish 100 sacks each day, ” Loja
added.
Joel Ochavillo, a member of MAGFA who is also into soybean production
said that the machines made farming easier and more convenient. “Our labor
cost, as well as the time we spend on our farming operations, have been
lessened, thanks to the interventions we have availed from the DA –Caraga,” he
said.
Loja said they used to spend P25,000 – P30,000 for labor but now they
save to as much as P5,000.
Ochavillo said that the traders who would come to their place to buy
their produce did not really offer them a competitive price before, ranging
from less than P20 - P23 per kilo. Now though, with the assistance of the
DA-Caraga’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division, they have tied up with
a buyer from Davao City which offered them a price of P30 per kilo.
On the other hand, DA-Caraga Regional Executive Director Abel James I.
Monteagudo, who personally witnessed the farming activities of the group in
their area was happy to note that the machinery from the DA is working and
helping the soybean farmers in improving their farming practices. “Even before,
with their not so advanced way, this town already produces more than half of
the country’s soybean supply. So we hope to provide them with more of the
Department’s interventions to help them further boost their production and
sustain it,” Monteagudo said.
According to Loja, their average harvest for one hectare is 40 sacks per
hectare at 50 kilos per sack. Caraga is the country’s top producer of soybean
in the country with the bulk of it coming from Surigao del Sur. (DA13-RAFIS/PIA-Surigao
del Sur)
PNP Caraga supports President Duterte’s SONA
By PMaj. Renel E. Serrano
BUTUAN CITY, July 27 -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) Caraga
expressed its full support on the government’s plans and programs that will be
presented by President Rodrigo Duterte during his State of the Nation Address
(SONA) today, July 27.
On the issue of Anti-terrorism Act of 2020, PNP Caraga regional director
Brigadier General Joselito T. Esquivel, Jr. said that the PNP is sincere and
progressively applying human rights principles and right-based approaches in
the implementation of the law.
He also announced that PNP Caraga is in partnership with other sectors
including local communities as it works hand in hand to combat terrorism while
observing the rule of law.
“The PNP organization stands for freedom of speech, assembly and
expression. We highly respect the rights of any people and adhere to the
procedures of the law. However, I urge the groups that are planning to
physically stage a protest to just do it online and avoid mass gathering due to
the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent the further spread of the virus,” BGen.
Esquivel said.
PNP Caraga completed its security preparations for the places where mass
gathering is allowed and will continuously at maximum tolerance during the SONA
2020 to maintain peace and order at all times. (PIO, PNP-13/PIA-Caraga)
