Ensuring the availability and accessibility of food for everyone is both the mandate and the greatest need that is being addressed by the Department of Agriculture during this pandemic. As a basic need, food is essential for strengthening our immune system to combat COVID 19 and stay strong and healthy.

Behind the food served on our tables, are the producers, the farmers and fisherfolks who worked the land and sailed the seas. These are our modern-day heroes, playing a vital role in making sure that food is always available for everyone, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is right and just for our farmers to receive the assistance that will help them meet the demands of the society.

In the barangays of Kalugmanan, Sto. Nino, Minsuro, and Mambatangan in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, farmers are blessed to have vast lands which are suitable for different types of crops such as rice, corn, cassava, and high-value crops. However, the lack of proper facilities make farming activity difficult to farmers.

“We have a lot of farmers here in Barangay Minsuro but it’s difficult for them to dry their produce especially in this area because it becomes swampy when it rains.” Said Mary Jane Guilayan, Barangay Captain of Minsuro.

“As a farmer in Mambatangan, we are forced to dry our produce in our paddies. If we have to dry our cassava, we have no pavement to use so we dry them directly on the soil which affects their quality,” said Virgilio Racines, a farmer of Mambatangan. “Also, when we dry our corn, we have to use tarpaulins and rice sacks so it doesn’t get wet when it rains.”
The lack of drying facilities has even resulted in conflicts between farmers. “When its drying time, farmers would fight just to secure a slot to use the only available dryer which is very hard which resulted in a lot of farmers getting violent” said Ernesto Cogay, farmer and councilor of barangay Sto. Nino.

Angelie Roa, the barangay captain of Mambatangan experienced personally the problem of rain in their community. “I grew up here and this has been the situation of the road for the longest time: it becomes swampy when it rains, parts are also uneven that only wagons can carry our produce, and at times, muddy and rocky so it’s very risky and hard to transport our produce to the market.” she said.

To alleviate their predicament, the Local Government Unit of Manolo Fortich requested assistance from the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project 10 or DA-PRDP 10 to address the lack of drying facilities.

LGU Manolo Fortich requested four warehouses with Multipurpose Drying Pavements (MPDPs) to be situated in four different areas in the municipality, particularly in Kalugmanan, Sto. Nino, Minsuro, and Mambatangan with a total project cost of Php 14,521,334.32.

Kalugmanan Warehouse

They also requested a 4.64 km Farm to Market Road stretching from Sitio Viga to Mambatangan proper with a total project cost of Php 44,238,124.48 to address the issues in transportation and postharvest losses caused by un-cemented road.

Fortunately, the five requests were granted and were turned over last July 8, 2021. In just a single day, things changed for the farmers and residents of Manolo Fortich.

The shift from the former difficult situation of limited facilities to becoming an organized farmers’ association has been noticed by Jovelito Cabtalan, a farmer from Sto. Nino, “With the presence of the warehouse and MPDP, unity has been very visible between our farmers. I can see that this will bring progress to our farmers and to our associations here in our area,” Jovelito said. “We will do our best to take care of this blessing that it can serve more farmers and the farmers of the future.”

Some of the farmers even went the extra mile just for the subprojects to be realized. Like Orlando Villara of barangay Kalugmanan who donated a piece of his land for the construction of the warehouse with MPDP. “Kalugmanan is a very far area from the center of Manolo Fortich. We have to travel there just for our goods to be dried. So, when I heard that they are looking for a site for the construction of the subproject, I donated mine because I know that I can benefit from it; all of the farmers here in Kalugmanan can benefit from it, and we don’t need to travel far just to dry our produce. We are also assured with the quality of our produce,” said Orlando.

As the Barangay Captain Roa also noticed that the road attracted a lot of investors in their area. “I saw how the road turned a positive impact to potential investors because accessibility wise, it will never be a problem to them. This impact has been visible even though the road was still on its construction phase. Now, with the completed road, I’m sure that the road, with its quality, will surely entice more investors that will start the economic activity of the area, providing livelihood for residents here in Mambatangan.”

The turned-over warehouse with MPDPs will serve more than 2,877 households in the benefiting barangays while the FMR, with an influence area of 922 hectares, will greatly serve 650 households, including the Bukidnon and Higaonon tribes and the farmers growing cassava, mango, corn, and banana.
During the turnover, DA-10 Regional Executive Director and DA-PRDP 10 Project Director Carlene C. Collado congratulated the municipality for their exemplary performance in delivering the subprojects.

“Completing a subproject under DA-PRDP is not easy because it entails volumes of requirements for submission and will undergo a series of deliberations before the project will be given an approval to start. We always make sure that the standards and specifications set by the World Bank are being followed. But beyond our expectations, Manolo Fortich was able to turn over five subprojects in just a day. This accomplishment is attributed to the collaborative efforts of the LGUs, contractors, and all the key players who helped in the success of these subprojects,” Collado said.

“We hope that the officials and everyone in the barangay will properly utilize and take care of these subprojects because these will greatly help everybody, especially our farmers in achieving better yield and quality produce. We wanted these subprojects to last and serve more farmers in the future; this will be your legacy.” Director Collado added.

As we provide assistance to our farmers, we are also contributing in achieving enough food supply for our country. All it takes is a little give and take; or in Cebuano, we call it balos-balos. In enabling communities and expanding opportunities, DA-PRDP-10 is one with everyone in achieving a food-secure and resilient Philippines with empowered and prosperous farmers and fisherfolks.