Following the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) conducted in October, the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program facilitated the turnover of more than Php 97,000 worth of DA-MIMAROPA-funded agricultural interventions to the municipality of Kalayaan last November 27. The ceremony took place at the Kalayaan Resource Center in Barangay Berong, Quezon, Palawan.
The PRA revealed the community’s pressing need to enhance local food production due to limited and irregular supply shipments. In response, DA MIMAROPA provided agricultural inputs designed to improve household-level food security. These included 200 native chickens with chick booster, native pigs, goats from the Livestock Program, assorted planting materials from the High-Value Crops Development Program, and 10 bags of vermicast from the Organic Agriculture Program.
Palawan Agricultural Program Coordinating Officer Vicente Binasahan Jr. led the distribution on behalf of Regional Executive Director Atty. Christopher R. Bañas, accompanied by Dairy Production and Development Center (DPDC) OIC Neil Vargas.
APCO Binasahan emphasized that the interventions were prioritized based on RED Bañas’ directives and urged beneficiaries to view them as investments for community growth.
“Pagtulong-tulungan nating mapalago itong mga naibigay ng Department of Agriculture, dahil ito ay para sa inyo din. Upang mas umunlad ang bayan ng Kalayaan, dapat din nating pangalagaan at mahalin itong mga inihandog sa inyo,” he said.
(Let us work together to grow and sustain what the Department of Agriculture has provided, because these are for your benefit as well. For the municipality of Kalayaan to progress, we must also take care of and value these interventions given to you.)
Mayor Beltsazar S. Alindogan also welcomed the support, describing it as a valuable opportunity to enhance food availability for Pag-asa residents.
“Maraming salamat po sa DA-MIMAROPA. Napakaswerte ng Kalayaan dahil binigyan tayo ng pagkakataong mabigyan ng libreng manok, seedlings, native na baboy, at kambing, maging ang vermicompost na gagamitin para sa pagtatanim. Huwag nating sayangin itong magandang oportunidad, bagkos [ay] pangalagaan natin ito at palaguin,” he shared.
(Thank you very much to DA MIMAROPA. Kalayaan is very fortunate to be given the opportunity to receive free chickens, seedlings, native pigs, and goats, as well as vermicompost for planting. Let us not waste this great opportunity, instead let us take care of it and help it grow.)
To ensure proper management of the livestock and poultry stocks, DA-MIMAROPA experts Arturo Mones, Senior Science Research Specialist II, and Alvin Villanueva, Agricultural Technician II, conducted an orientation on animal husbandry, breeding, and production management.
