Current and former agriculture secretaries will turn over
initial agricultural equipment and materials to the farmers of six previously
acknowledged Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camps in Maguindanao and
Lanao provinces Wednesday, Jan. 6.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala will lead the service
presentation ceremony of the farmers’ assistance program with former DA
Secretary and Philippine government (GPH) peace panel member Senen Bacani at
the Bangsamoro Leadership Management Institute in Simuay, Sultan Kudarat,
Maguindanao.
The program is an initial confidence-building measure under
the Bangsamoro peace process with the end in view of transforming these areas
into peaceful and productive communities.
The initiative was organized by the Task Force Camps
Transformation (TFCT), in partnership with the DA-Farmer’s Assistance Program
and is part of the normalization process stipulated under the Comprehensive
Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed between the MILF and the Philippine
government.
Among the equipment and materials that will be turned over
to farmers in the MILF-acknowledged communities are six units of heavy-duty
90HP farm tractor with complete accessories; six units of cassava grater; three
units of hand tractor; 1200 bags of palay seeds and fertilizer; and 1200 bags
of OPV corn seeds and fertilizer.
Also part of the assistance are planting materials such as
300 pieces of assorted rambutan, lanzones, jackfruit seedlings; and 300 pieces
coffee, achuete, and guyabano seedlings. Eighteen carabaos will also be turned
over for distribution to local farmers in conflict-affected areas.
In addition, certificates of commitment from the DA will be
given during the event for the upcoming delivery of 16 units of non-motorized
bancas; 160 units of fish traps or "baliyat"; 12 modules of goats
(one module is composed of 4 female goats and one male goat); 18 heads of
cattle; 6 units of corn sheller; 6 units of corn mill. Said equipment and farm
animals will be turned over to local beneficiaries in a span of two to three
months.
These areas are in the vicinity of former MILF Camp Abubakar
as-Siddique, Camp Badre, and Camp Omar ibn al-Khattab in Maguindanao; Camp
Rajamuda in North Cotabato and Maguindanao; Camp Bilal in Lanao del Norte and
Lanao del Sur; and Camp Busrah Somiorang in Lanao del Sur.
Prominent individuals such as Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Mujiv Sabbihi Hataman, ARMM Executive Secretary Laisa
Alamia, Bangsamoro Development Agency Executive Director Mohammad Suib Yacob,
Maguindanao 1st District Representative Bai Sanda Sema, and Maguindanao 2nd
District Representative Zajid Mangundadatu were also invited to attend the
event.
The event is expected to be joined by more or less 1,000
participants, including members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF)
and the farmer-beneficiaries.
The implementation of such confidence-building measures is
undertaken through the Joint Task Forces mandated to help transform the MILF
camps into peaceful and productive communities.
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