COTABATO CITY – Aimed at advancing sustainable food security and nutrition in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, the regional government launched Friday, October 16, a first of its kind Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) Roadmap.
The FSN Roadmap is a product of a one-year collaboration between the BARMM’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR), Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA), and the World Food Programme of the United Nations (UN-WFP). It is also supported by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
In a span of 10 years, the roadmap will serve as the region’s blueprint in establishing a ‘self-reliant, food secure and resilient Bangsamoro’.
On Friday, MAFAR Minister Mohammad Yacob and BPDA Director General Mohajirin Ali officially turned over the FSN documents to Executive Secretary Abdulraof Macacua, who represented Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim.
Minister Yacob said the roadmap “stipulates both the emerging issues and gaps, and the strategies and actions that need to be looked into, carried out, and sustained by the different stakeholders especially the government of the BARMM.”
CM Ebrahim, who attended via video conference said “We are optimistic that the roadmap will help us tap into the agricultural potentials in the Bangsamoro as we move forward during the transition period, In shaa Allah.”
“We assure you that not only will we navigate this roadmap with all of you but we will also embed the wide spectra of work that needs to be done – be it in our legislative work or in the executive wing,” Ebrahim added.
He also emphasized the importance of taking care of the farmers and fisherfolks’ welfare, especially during the time of a pandemic.
“I’d like to thank and dedicate this work to our farmers and fisherfolks. For it is them who make sure that we survive everyday by providing us with resources that, in many cases, they cannot even enjoy for themselves,” CM Ebrahim said.
Meanwhile, Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar congratulated the BARMM and its partner agencies for the successful crafting and launching of the FSN roadmap.
“This roadmap is a testament to the region’s readiness to take on challenges in a more collaborative, holistic, and critical approach. It will significantly help farmers and fisherfolks and reach the ‘Masaganang Ani, at Mataas na Kita,” Dar said.
Also present during Friday’s event were Cabinet Secretary of the Philippines Karlo Nograles, Deputy Country Director Mats Persson of the WFP, Assistant Representative Tamara Palis-Duran of FAO, BTA-Parliament Speaker Pangalian Balindong, and other partner organizations. (Bureau of Public Information)
