TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Department of Agriculture-Special Area for Agriculture Development (DA-SAAD) recently turned over agricultural livelihood inputs to four farmer organizations in the province to provide additional source of income to beneficiaries and attain food security especially this pandemic.
Turned over to the Kasakalikasan Farmers Association of Barangay Suyang were 800 Muscovy ducks, 32 boxes of vetracin, 1,050 pieces each of lanzones and rambutan seedlings, 50 cans of vegetable seeds, 83 bags of layer feeds, and 66 bags of grower feeds.
Released to Bawak Darulog Allubaggan Pagugo, Pangol Farmers Improvement Organization, and Mabaca Bumaruan Farmers Association in Taudad were 263 native goats, 239 does, and 24 bucks. The Provincial Office for Veterinary Services inspected and treated the goats with antibiotics and gave them vitamins prior to their release to the beneficiaries.
The interventions for the Kasakalikasan farmers and the goat production project worth P1,052,000 are funded by DA-SAAD Program 2020.
Kalinga, with a poverty incidence of 9.3 percent based on 2018 Philippine Statistics Office data, was included among the 30 poorest of the poor provinces in the country, and such is what the DA-SAAD Program seeks to alleviate. SAAD projects started in the province in 2019 in 10 barangays.
Meanwhile, Johnny Carillo, 67, from Macutay, Rizal, and beneficiary of DA technology assistance, tools, and equipment including a solar-powered irrigation system, successfully established a diversified agriculture farm he named “Green Valley Farm” with mango as his main crop.
He acquired a certification of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) through the assistance of the DA and the local government unit of Rizal, Kalinga in 2019.
Being GAP certified positively affects the quality of the mango as it is clean, safe, and easy to market at a reasonable price.
Carillo presently manages around 456 quality mango trees integrated with fish culture and rice farming.
The Green Valley Farm is registered to offer Agricultural Crop Production NC II course under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority program.
With his accomplishments, Carillo shares his experiences with fellow farmers in every opportunity possible. He is also invited as a knowledge-sharer on mango production by government and private institutions. – Peter A. Balocnit
