DAR turns Samar rice farmers’ dream into reality

By JOSE ALSMITH L. SORIA
August 18, 2023

CALBIGA, Samar – “This is no longer a dream,” said Roque Pacuan, president of the Barobaybay Farmers Association (BFA), referring to the farm machineries and equipment they received as he expressed their organization’s gratitude to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for turning what they had been dreaming for into reality.

BFA is an organization of 62 rice farmers, 55 of them are agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), in remote Barangay Barobaybay in this town who had long been wanting to own farm machineries to make farming easy for them.

On Tuesday, August 8 this year, DAR officials, led by Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II (PARPO II), Alfonso Catorce, turned over to the said farmer association P1.3 million worth of farm machineries and equipment, including hybrid seeds and organic fertilizers funded under the Major Crop-Based Block Farm Productivity of the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support (CRFPS) program.

During the said occasion, Thelma Alfaro, chief of the Program Beneficiaries Development Division (PBDD), explained to the members of the BFA that the document Catorce and Pacuan will be signing is a Trust Agreement.

Stipulated in the said document, Alfaro stressed that the DAR will be monitoring within six months the farm machineries and equipment provided to BFA if they are being used and managed well. If the said common service facilities (CSFs) will not be used within the said period, or used for other purpose in violation of the Trust Agreement, the DAR will pull them out and transfer to another agrarian reform beneficiaries organization (ARBO), she added.

However, if the CSFs are used and well managed, the DAR will execute a deed of donation to BFA, Alfaro said.

Alfaro disclosed that the farm machineries and equipment that were turned over to the BFA included two threshers, two turtle-type tractors, two hand tractors, two water pumps, four grass cutters, and three knapsack sprayers.

Each member will also receive a sack of hybrid seeds of rice and organic fertilizer, said Alfaro.

Catorce in his message assured BFA members, “We in DAR will continue supporting you.” He added that provision of farm machineries and equipment is part of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III’s nine primary goals.

Meanwhile, agriculturist Irlyn Marabe, who represented Mayor Red Nacario during the said occasion, also thanked the DAR. According to her, the DAR contributed much to the agricultural production of the municipality.

Marabe said, this town is now one of the high producers of rice in the province which produces an average of 4.5 tons per year.

Marabe also realized BFA’s need of a warehouse that she insinuated to the said ARBO that the local government unit can provide it. She advised the officers of the BFA to prepare a letter addressed to the mayor requesting a warehouse.

According to Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer (MARPO) Baltazar Anadon, about 50 hectares of riceland are being cultivated by the members of the BFA.