A priest blesses the kolong-kolongs among the farm implements and machineries before distribution. Photo by Armand Galang
SANTA ROSA, Nueva Ecija – A group of 2,164 farmers, mostly agrarian reform beneficiaries, received multimillion–peso worth of farm implements and cash assistance from the Department of Agrarian Reform at the Consuelo Hotel here Friday.
DAR Secretary John Castriciones said P1.81-million financial assistance, P1.99-million worth of vital farm machineries and P5.51-million in hauling tricycles, locally called kolong-kolong were handed over to various ARBs from different Nueva Ecija municipalities.
Aside from the checks and implements, Castriciones also led the distribution of 216 certificate of land ownership awards (CLOAs), covering a total of 111.34 hectares, to 200 beneficiaries in 12 municipalities and two cities of the province.
Castriciones was accompanied by Undersecretaries Emily Padilla of support and services office and Virginia Orogo of planning, policy and research, Carin Panumpang of special concerns, Elmer Distor of Bureau of Land Tenure and Improvement, among other ranking agency officials.
Castriciones, however, clarified that only 258 ARB representatives actually attended the ceremonies in compliance with the existing health protocols against the coronavirus disease.
The Bagong Talavera Agrarian Reform Cooperative in Palupod, Talavera was the biggest recipient having 16 of its members bagging the total of P1.44-million under the DAR’s Credit Assistance Program for Program Beneficiaries Development (CAP-PBD).
Eleven members of the Talavera Handicraft Makers and Processed Food Producers Cooperative got P374,000 credit assistance under the Expanded Assistance to Restore and Install Sustainable Enterprises for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (E-ARISE ARB) which is aimed at enabling cooperatives to continue serving members who had been adversely affected by natural calamities, disasters, pests and diseases, and viral infection or outbreaks.
Two agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations, Lawang Kuoang Farmets ARB Cooperative of San Antonio town and Calabalaan Farmers ARB Cooperative of Science City of Muñonz, received a tractor each.
Castrociones explained that the 75 kolong-kolongs distributed to 75 ARBO clusters, with a total of 1,819 beneficiaries, were made possible through the Convergence for Livelihood Assistance to ARBs Project (CLAAP) in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development while the two units of 40-HP tractors was provided under the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support Program.
“Sa panahon ng pandemya, tunay na bayani ang mga magsasaka,” Castriciones said, noting that the pandemic has pushed all economies in the world down.
“Talagang mahirap po ang epekto ng pandemya,” he stressed. “Mahirap pero kailangan nating paglabanan at ituloy ang buhay,” Castriciones told the farmers.
“Bukod sa lupa, kailangan kayong bigyan ng pang-hanapbuhay sa mga panahon na ang lupa ay hindi pinagaaanihan,” Padilla stressed.
