Tuesday, September 01, 2020

DA-Caraga turns over 50 heads of Anglo-Nubian goats

BUTUAN CITY, Sept. 1 -- The Department of Agriculture - Caraga (DA) headed by Regional Executive Director Abel James Monteagudo turned over 50 heads of Anglo-Nubian Goats to the Caraga Small Ruminant Raiser Association Incorporated (CASRRAI).

These goats amounting to P1.6 million would serve as additional breeder stocks under DA's Livestock-Based and Enterprise Development Program.

“The association will distribute 10 goats per province to its members all over Caraga,” said Livestock Program Coordinator Jekem Sanchez.

The initiative is in line with DA’s objectives in leveling up the agriculture sector.

Sanchez added that this program is in support of the dairy industry and for strengthening the livestock sector in attaining food security, income enhancement, profitability, and sustainability.

CASRRAI has 18 members all over the region. “The organization not only aims to increase goat production, but it also aims to increase its membership,” said Engr. Anecito Bonpin, Jr., president of the association.

Bonpin said that the association has active members who are compliant with the guidelines set by DA on raising goats and they hope that through this example, other raisers will follow their good practices.

DA made sure that the recipients of the program are farmers with validated goat houses and fully developed forages with water and electricity, and trained manpower. The recipient-association will be responsible for distributing the offspring to its members.

DA encouraged the farmers and fishers to form and organize groups and associations since its interventions are usually given to them. They can be ably assisted by the respective City, Provincial, and Municipal Agriculture Offices. (DA-RFO XIII, RAFIS/PIA-Caraga)

 

PCA launches Transformation Roadmap for 2020-2038

SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Sept. 1 -- The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) launched on August 28 the 18-year PCA Transformation Roadmap (PTR) which sets the direction for PCA to become a globally recognized institution championing a market-driven coconut industry by 2038.

“The roadmap underscores the shift in the strategic focus from that of mere implementation of subsidy programs and projects to injecting agribusiness in every step of the supply chain, thereby adding value to the delivery of services to our stakeholders,” PCA Administrator Benjamin R. Madrigal Jr. said.

Anchored on the ‘agribusinessizing’ approach, one of the objectives of the PTR is to provide a platform for the coconut farmers to be active participants to the supply-value chain by capacitating them to be ‘cocopreneurs’ while making the coconut industry market-driven.

One of the milestones of this transformation initiative by Madrigal is the establishment of PCA’s Multi-Sectoral Advisory Board (MSAB), which is composed of Dr. Emil Q. Javier as Chair, Cong. Wilfrido Mark M. Enverga, Dr. Leonardo A. Gonzales, Dr. Luis Rey I. Velasco, and Ma. Socorro L. Escueta as members.

Dr. Jesus P. Estanislao, Chairman Emeritus of Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA) administered the oath taking of the PCA MSAB. The PCA has enrolled in the Performance Governance System (PGS) of the ISA, an exclusive certifying body for good governance in the public sector using the PGS.

Through the PGS, definitive objectives and strategic measures were identified, enabling PCA to effectively take its course in refocusing its strategic direction, automating its processes, enhancing manpower competence, and strengthening its organizational capabilities to be able to effectively succeed in implementing the agribusiness sizing approach.

“We have identified three major base camps to serve as milestone indicators of success for this transformation journey. By 2022, PCA is to be the leading agency under the Department of Agriculture, steering a market-driven coconut industry, and leveling up on a national level by 2026. The PCA would be conquering the ASEAN arena by 2033, leading to the global vision by 2038,” Madrigal added.

Currently, PCA is on its way to initiating the PGS and in accelerating it towards the ‘compliant status’ in the Governance Pathway within the year.

“Centered on PCA’s people, process, and policies, the PCA Transformation Roadmap will pave the way for a more efficient and effective implementation of industry development plans,” Madrigal said.

“I am confident that we can form a strong partnership with the PCA MSAB and ISA as we all work together in achieving our goal of becoming the leading agency in the agriculture sector, steering a market-driven coconut industry with a greater global reach and significance,” Madrigal said. (DA-PCA/PIA-Surigao del Norte)

Langihan Public Market sa Butuan City, na-lockdown ng anim na araw

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

LUNGSOD NG BUTUAN, Setyembre 1 (PIA) - Pinatupad ng lokal na pamahalaan ang six-day temporary closure ng Mayor Salvador Calo Supermarket o mas kilala ngayong Langihan Public Market sa Butuan City.

Isa na kasi ang namatay sa tatlong nagpositibo sa rapid test na isinagawa sa mga stall owners at vendors.

Isa si Jennilyn Supangan sa mga apektadong vendor sa pansamantalang pagpapasara sa palengke. “Mahirap talaga kung patuloy ang paglockdown ng pamilihan lalo na sa panahon ngayon kasi ito lang ang aming hanapbuhay,” ani niya.

Problemado rin ang mga mamimili. “Nahihirapan din kami dahil dito na kami nasanay na pumunta para mamili ng mga pagkain na mura,” pahayag ni Leah Palarca.

Tiniyak naman ng lokal na pamahalan na sa anim na araw na lockdown at tigil operasyon sa palengke ay agad naman aniyang nagbigay ng ayuda sa mga apektadong stall vendors bilang suporta sa kanilang kabuhayan.

“May mahigit 600 na apektadong pamilya at naipasa na namin sa LGU ang mga pangalan ng mga apektadong vendor upang sila’y makatanggap ng ayuda,” pahayag ni Atty. Edwin Jon Pizarro, OIC-Head ng Office of City Economic Enterprise (OCEE).

Ang City Health Office ay patuloy sa pagsasagawa ng contract tracing at disinfection sa buong palengke.

Umaasa ang mga naapektuhang stall owner at vendor na matapos na ang contact tracing at disinfection sa palengke para ligtas na silang makapaghanapbuhay sa oras na buksan muli ang palengke. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)

POPCOM nag awhag sa kabatan-unan nga giyahan ang mga manghud

By Matt Joe Ian F. Gonzaga

BUENAVISTA, Agusan del Norte, Sept. 1 --  Ang Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) Caraga nanawagan sa mga kabatan-unan (youth) nga mamahimong modelo ngadtu sa ilang mga manghud pinaagi  sa pagtambayayong sa pag giya ug pag hulma sa batasan ug karakteridad sa mga batang nag tubo (adolescent) karon sa panahon sa pandemiya.

Sa usa ka yugto sa POPCOM Caraga Adolescent Health and Development School on Air, nahinabi ni POPCOM Caraga Regional Director Alexander A. Makinano si Rina Andrea Calo, usa ka youth leader ug mental health awareness advocate, kung asa nahisgutan ang bahin sa mga kabatan-unan alang sa pag usbaw sa mga batang nag tubo.

Matod ni Calo, sa karong panahuna sa pandemya mamahimong mu abag ang mga kabatan-unan sa ilang mga ginikanan sa pag tudlo sa ilang mga kamanghuran sa mga pamaaging ma hulma ang ilang saktong pagdisisyon ug abilidad sa kinabuhi.

Dugang ni Calo, mamahimo usab instrumento ang community quarantine aron mapangandaman sa mga batang nag tubo ang umaabot nga pag sugod sa klase, ang distant ug online learing.

Sigon usab ni Regional Director Makinano nga dili angay kalimtan sa mga ginikanan ang paghatag ug oras sa ilang mga anak panahon sa pandemya kung asa adunay kaguol nga nabati kanila. 

Kahinumduman usab nga si National Youth Commission Northeastern Cluster Head, Karenne Anuver atol sa pakighinabi ni Director Makinano nga lakip usab sa mga programa sa ilang ahensya ang pag amuma sa mga batang nag tubo aron mas mahimong ma anyag, klaro ug tataw ang kaugmaon sa nasod.

Gi awhag ni Anuver ang youth sector nga mahimong ehemplo sa mga adolescents sa pag buhat ug maayo sa laing tao ug ang pag dili sa mga makadaot nga bisyo hilabi na ang panigarilyo, pag inom, pagpayuhot ug pag gamit sa illegal na droga.

Giimbitar usab ni RD Makinano ang mga estudyante ug out of school youth nga lantawon ug sundan ang mga yugto sa AHDP School on Air kada Huwebes paingon Biyernes alas tres sa hapon paingon sa alas singko aron makabaton ug kaalam mahitungod sa Adolescent Health and Development. (POPCOM Caraga/PIA Caraga)

Gov’t provides sustainable programs to communities in Surigao Norte town

By Venus L. Garcia

SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Sept. 1 (PIA) -- The Poverty Reduction, Livelihood and Employment Cluster led by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) - Surigao del Norte visited the community in barangay Camam-onan, one of the remote villages in the municipality of Gigaquit.

An agri-preneurial community enterprise was introduced to the residents and the members of the people’s organization also received coco fiber making machines.

As part of the livelihood program, they will also be trained on meat processing, tilapia fingerlings dispersal, and transplanting of seedlings.

The former rebels and indigenous peoples will also go through a cooperative capability building.

A technical skills training on carpentry, masonry, and agricultural crop production are also offered as sustainable livelihood options.

“Buo ang suporta ng TESDA upang maging sustainable ang mga proyekto at programa na inilusad para sa ikauunlad ng buhay ng bawat miyembro ng mga nasabing people’s organization,” said TESDA Caraga regional director Ashary Banto.

Part of the activities also was the registration of qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries.

For young individuals and students, an educational opportunity is made available through an alternative learning system.

Amid the prevailing issue on poverty, unemployment and insurgency, Evelito Baradillo has sensed the future progress and he hoped for a peaceful and sustainable living.

“Malaki ang aming pasasalamat dahil kami ay napili at nabigyan ng pansin ng gobyerno lalo na’t malayo ang lugar naming,” said Baradillo.

Meanwhile, Mayor Chadru Bonite of the municipality of Gigaquit was grateful to the different government agencies for bringing the various programs and projects to the province as these would potentially bring life-changing opportunities to the residents especially in far-flung communities. (SDR/VLG/PIA-Surigao del Norte)

Anitap farmers rejoice over newly completed Tagbibinuang Bridge

By Rechel D. Besonia

It was a bright and sunny morning. The sky was an expanse of sapphire blue, dotted with feathery white clouds as the radiant rays of the sun beamed beatifically into the newly built Tagbibinuang Bridge in Barangay Anitap of Veruela, Agusan del Sur perhaps telling the people that better days has indeed began.

“Sa kadugay na gyud namong pinaabot nahubsan na me sa paglaum nga ma arang-arang among panginabuhi tungod kay human sa gihimong validation wala may nahitabong tulay (We already run out of hope that we will experience a more comfortable life because after how many years of waiting, the bridge was still not realized)," said Larry Dugos, an agrarian reform beneficiary (ARB), as he remembered those times in 2011 when personnel from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has validated the area where the bridge should be built.

“We have waited long enough, and yet nothing happened,” barangay captain Elmer Amigable recalled.

"Before, most farmers and residents who had to deliver their products to the market had a hard time crossing the river because it only had a wooden bridge built from slabs of wood that were pieced together. It was too risky and dangerous yet our farmers have no other choice but to settle what is available," added Amigable.

Amigable said what worries him the most was when emergency strikes and patients could not easily pass through the wooden bridge for fear of falling into the river.

But in the morning of August 25, 2020, Captain Amigable together with his people in Barangay Anitap were flared with joy as they witnessed the turn-over ceremony of the newly built bridge. It was indeed a day full of hope and contentment.

Veruela Municipal Mayor Myrna S. Mondejar in her message expressed her profound joy as she graced the activity. “Our prayers were answered because a steel bridge is here. Now, the farmers will take little time to go to the hospital to seek medical attention. It will hasten transport of products to the nearby market, and the people will no longer risk wading in the river's currents because now, they can safely pass over the river using the new bridge," she said. 

"That’s why we are very thankful to the DAR and President Duterte for making what seems to be impossible into reality,” she added.

As the project will directly benefit more than 2,000 ARBs in Anitap and other neighboring barangays, DAR Caraga regional director Leomides R. Villareal emphasized that sustainability is important for the project to last a long time. 

Tagbibinuang Bridge was the first completed bridge in Agusan del Sur under the Tulay ng Pangulo para sa Kaunlarang Pang Agraryo project, formerly called the President’s Bridge Program, which is a zero-based budgeting approach by the government, funded by France, monitored by DAR and implemented by DPWH Unified Project Management Office-Bridge Management Cluster.

Launched in 2008, the project, jointly undertaken by the Philippine and the French Export Credit Facility (FCEF), initially involved the provision and construction of 418 modular prefabricated steel bridges all over the country with a total of 10,436.4 linear meters, using the French “unibridge technology.” It was supposed to be implemented over a period of six years but for some reason suspended indefinitely sometime in 2011.

PARPO II Jamil P. Amatonding Jr. expressed his gratefulness to the local government unit and the DPWH for their commitment to complete the project despite the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. He also challenged the residents to take good care of the project. “We are always behind you, to support and give you the necessary services that you need,” he said.

Also present during the turn-over were Assistant Regional Director for Operation Agnes Dela Cerna, ARBDSP CARPO Joven Pizarro, PCAO Fe H. Mosquera, MARPO of Veruela Engr. Gudy P. Centina, DPWH Engr. Norman Puy, members of Sangguniang Bayan and other local officials of the Municipality of Veruela. (DAR-Agusan del Sur/PIA-Agusan del Sur)

Former rebels kabilang sa mga lumahok sa training of trainers para sa 'organic agriculture'

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

LUNGSOD NG BUTUAN, Setyembre 1 (PIA) - Dating kasapi ng New People’s Army (NPA) si alyas Henry na sumuko 29th Infantry Battalion ng Philippine Army. Kung dati ay baril ang kanyang armas, ngayon ay mga kaalaman na sa organic farming ang kanyang sandata para malabanan ang kahirapan sa buhay.

“Nananawagan ako sa aking mga kasamahan na nasa bundok pa na bumaba na at tayo ay magkaisa at magtulungan sa ikauunlad ng ating komunidad,” ani ni Henry.

Ang training sa organic farming ay bahagi ng PEACE (People Empowerment in Agriculture for Community Enterprise) Project na inisyatibo ng Provincial Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC).

Hakbang ito ng gobyerno para sa Poverty Reduction, Livelihood and Employment Cluster (PRLEC) kung saan ang Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) ang lead agency.

Isang paraan din ito para masugpo ang insurhensiya sa rehiyon.

Kabilang din si PFC Reymar Aballe ng 23rd Infantry Battalion sa mga gustong tumulong sa mga lokal na residente na magkaroon ng masaganang taniman para sa kabuhayan nila. “I-impart ko po sa kanila kung ano po ang natutunan ko dito especially sa pagawa ng fertilizer o abuno sa mga pananim natin sa bukid,” sabi niya.

“Dapat sa buwan ng Oktubre, yung gagawin nilang Demo Farm ay magiging accredited site na ng Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) para pagdating ng Nobyembre, ma-accredit din siya ng TESDA as farm school,” pahayag ni TESDA-Agusan del Norte provincial director Rey Cueva.

Panawagan naman ni alyas Henry sa mga kabataan sa kanilang lugar na huwag magpalinlang sa mga makakaliwang grupo.

Samantala, kinilala naman ni Major General Maurito Licudine, commander ng 402nd Brigade, Philippine Army ang bumubuo ng PRLEC dahil sa kanilang mga pagsisikap at nagawang proyekto at programa lalo na sa mga mahihirap na kababayan. “Marami na rin kayong nagawa at sana mapagpatuloy pa ito upang mas marami pang mga kababayan natin ang makikinabang at matulungang makaahon sa buhay lalo na ngayong may pandemya,” ani niya.

Matapos ang training, nakahanda nang magtungo ang mga trainers sa mga natukoy na barangay sa probinsya para tulungang mahasa ang bawat komunidad sa pagpapaunlad ng organic agriculture na malaking tulong sa kanilang kabuhayan. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)

Posibleng pagdagsa ng 'COVID-19 patients' pinaghahandaan ng Surigao del Sur

LUNGSOD NG TANDAG Surigao del Sur, Sept. 1 (PIA) -- Bilang paghahanda sa posibleng pagdagsa ng mga pasyenteng may coronavirus disease 2019 o COVID-19 sa Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center (ASTMMC) sa lungsod, pinulong ni Gobernador Alexander Pimentel ang mga namamahala ng mga District at Community Hospitals sa buong probinsya ng Surigao del Sur, pati na ang Provincial Health Office, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Office (PDRRMO) at Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center sa Tandag City.

Sa panayam kay Gob. Pimentel, sinabi nito na posibleng dito na sa ASTMMC sa Tandag City ipapadala ang mga pasyente ng COVID-19 mula sa iba’t ibang probinsiya ng rehiyon sa kadahilanang puno na ang Caraga Regional Hospital (CRH) sa Surigao City at ang Butuan Medical Center (BMC).

Kasama sa mga plano at mga hakbangin na gagawin ng probinsya ang paghahanda sa mga lugar, pasilidad, at mga kakailanganin na mga medical supplies sa posibleng pagdagsa ng mga pasyente na may COVID-19 mula sa iba’t ibang probinsya.

Samantala, kasalukuyan namang naka “lockdown” ang Lianga District Hospital sa bayan ng Lianga matapos mamatay ang isang 75 taong gulang na pasyente na nagpositibo sa COVID-19 noong isang linggo. Napag-alaman na dinala sa nasabing hospital ang pasyente dahil sa pananakit ng tiyan, at nirefer kalaunan sa ASTMMC sa Tandag City, at dito na ito binawian ng buhay.

Pahayag naman ni Lianga Mayor Novelita Sarmen sa kanyang facebook account, naka-lockdown na rin ang buong Purok na tinitirhan ng nagpositibo sa COVID-19 at kalapit na komunidad nito upang magbigay daan sa contact tracing na posibleng nakasalamuha nito. Sa kasalukuyan, patuloy pa ang ginagawang contact tracing sa nasabing lugar.  

Pansamantala munang dadalhin ang mga pasyente na nangangailan ng “hospitalization” sa ngayun sa Hinatuan District Hospital sa bayan ng Hinatuan o sa Marihatag District Hospital sa bayan ng Marihatag habang naka lockdown ang Lianga District Hospital, ayun kay Provincial Health Office chief Dr. Eric Montesclaros.

Sa kasalukuyan, ang probinsya ay may naitalang 57 kumpirmadong kaso ng COVID-19 base na pinakahuling tala na pinalabas ng Provincial Health Office noong Agosto 30. Dalawa nito ay bagong kaso na nasa kwarentina na, habang 44 nito ang nakarekober, at isa ang naiulat na namatay. (PIA-Surigao del Sur)