March 29, 2024

BONTOC, Mountain Province – Farmers in a village here were given cattle for livelihood.
The Channeg Farmer’s Association of Barangay Dalican received 20 cows worth P557,900 from the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program of the Department of Agriculture.
Municipal Agriculturist Renato Falag-ey said the group proposed the Cattle Production Project and coursed it through the government’s End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) initiatives.
With 70 members, Falag-ey said the group will adopt a dispersal scheme where the first 20 members or farmer-beneficiaries will receive one cow each.
The recipients shall take care of the animals until they bear offspring, which will be given to other members of the association.
Mayor Franklin Odsey thanked the DA-Cordillera under the leadership of Regional Executive Director Cameron P. Odsey for its program to eradicate extreme poverty by providing income-generating opportunities to disadvantaged families.
The mayor encouraged the SAAD farmer-beneficiaries to value the grant by taking care of the cattle so that they will reproduce for the next beneficiaries.
Odsey added the livelihood project provided to the farmer-beneficiaries is anchored on his administration’s vision “Bontoc on the Rise,” which encompasses the five major programs to include shared prosperity through economic empowerment at the grassroots.
Odsey said the local government will work harder in coordination with national line agencies to provide better access to livelihood programs for the people, like the Cattle Production Project of Dalican.
To ensure the project’s sustainability, Falag-ey said the OMAg, in coordination with the Provincial Veterinary Office, will conduct monitoring and coaching on care and management of cattle.
The intervention of the municipal government in the realization of the project includes technical assistance in the preparation and submission of project proposals to DA and facilitating meetings and orientation of the farmer association; the identification of first 20 farmer-beneficiaries; and the dispersal of the cows to recipients.
Also, Falag-ey recognized the assistance of the provincial government through the Provincial Veterinary Office.
As counterpart, the Channeg Farmer’s Association will identify pasture lands or communal land where the cows are to be placed, fencing of the area, and provision of forage for the animals. – Alpine L. Killa