SAGADA, Mountain Province – The Department of Agriculture-Cordillera encouraged farmers to organize themselves or become members of an association or a cooperative.
DA Regional Executive Director Cameron Odsey said a farmer must be a member of an association or a cooperative accredited by the agency before they can avail of the programs of the DA.
DA’s assistance programs are cascaded to cooperatives, from which members can benefit.
“If a group is organized, they can plan, for example, how to improve their planting. They will agree how to help each other, which is also one of the goals of the DA. If individual farmers have a request, they will course this thorough their association,” Odsey said.
He added associations or cooperatives must be registered with the appropriate agency and must be accredited by the DA to ensure these groups are really involved in agriculture.
“We want to make sure that the assistance will be used properly,” he said.
Odsey said agricultural technicians in the municipalities can help in formulating project proposals to be submitted by the farmers’ organization.
He said screening will be done to confirm if a proposed project is what the group requesting for assistance needs.
He reiterated the need for all farmers to register to the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) with their municipal agriculturist.
“If there is fund or project, we know how to distribute it to help more agricultural areas through the RSBSA, he said.
RSBSA is a registry of farmers, fisherfolks, and farm laborers that serves as a targeting mechanism for the identification of beneficiaries for different agriculture-related programs and services of the government. – Debbie Gasingan
April 26, 2024
