CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Department of Agriculture in Northern Mindanao (DA-10) launched on Monday a development project to enhance the agricultural land of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in Bukidnon province.
During the opening event here, DA-10 Executive Director Carlene Collado said the Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project Region 10 (MIADP-10) aims to address the "lingering poverty" among IPs through strategic interventions geared at improving the economic situation of select indigenous communities.
Collado, the MIADP chairperson, said the program seeks to address the IPs' low income due to weak marketing linkages and poor infrastructure in geographically isolated Ancestral Domains (ADs).
As pilot communities, the agency selected two ancestral domains in the municipalities of Malitbog and Impasugong.
MIADP-10 Deputy Project Director Joel Rudinas said the AD in Malitbog is situated in Barangay San Luis with an area of 20,083.18 hectares, while in Impasugong, it is in Sitio Kibuwa, Barangay Impalutao with a total land area of 2,952.51 hectares.
Meanwhile, telecommunications firms PLDT and Smart Communications provided technology and connectivity packages to the Mantibugao Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Farmers' Cooperative (MARBFC) in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon.
MARBFC general manager Evangelin Frasco said that as recipients of the GrowHer project organized by the Philippines Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture, they were introduced to the use of certified seeds and fertilizers, new applications, soil sampling, and water conservation.
"We have also realized that we can impart our learnings not only to the farmers here in Mantibugao but also those from other communities in Manolo Fortich," Frasco said.
The GrowHer project, with the support of PLDT and Smart, aims to strengthen women farmers' digital capacities to make their livelihoods more sustainable. (PNA)
