BONTOC, Mountain Province – In celebration of the milestone that the province has achieved, Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan, Jr., together with Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Edward Chumawar, Jr., and PDRRMO Assistant Department Head Ian Neil Culallad received the P271,150,900 People’s Survival Fund grant from President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., during the ceremonial presentation of funds for the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) in Malacañan on Nov. 29.
With the province’s project on Integrated Climate Field School for Farmers, the province is granted 41.75 percent of the PSF’s 2023 budget. Of the 180 proposals to the People’s Survival Fund, the Mountain Province Climate Field School for Farmers (CFSF) is among the five proposals approved.
The project was conceptualized, designed, and initiated by the PDRRMO. It is one of the PDRRM Council’s long-term projects in terms of climate-resilient infrastructure, capacity building and research, and early warning system. The green, two-story knowledge-sharing and hands-on learning center will be implemented at the MPSPC Campus, Bacarri, Paracelis, Mountain Province.
According to Culallad, the integrated CFSF of the province is a concrete climate action to help farmers mitigate the impacts of climate change by providing them support in terms of research and training. It also aims to institute environmental management through rain-water harvesting facility and a mini-solar farm while a key element of disaster risk reduction will also be addressed through the network of early warning system in the ten municipalities. Culallad also said the project is one of the province’s contributions to the 2030 Sendai Framework as well as to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The awarding of the grant to the province is a testament to the MPDRRM Council’s commitment to champion both climate change action and not just DRRM, considering their interconnectedness. The ceremonial turnover is timely as some participants are attending the COP28 on Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 to present how the country implemented its climate adaptation and mitigation plans. Meanwhile, the municipality of Besao was also granted P2 million project development grant and was turned over to Mayor Bryne Bacwaden. – Laycha K. Marra
