MARAWI CITY—A total of 320 former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants participated in Bangsamoro Government’s organic vegetable production training in Lanao del Sur Thursday, November 5.
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) Deputy Minister Ammal D. Solaiman led the team of Municipal Agriculture Officers in conducting practical training on organic vegetable management.
“Hindi po ito ang hangganan ng aming serbisyo sa inyo. Isa po sa priority agenda ng ating Chief Minister Ahod ‘Al Haj Murad’ Ebrahim na mapaabot ang basic services sa ating communities,” Solaiman said.
Ceremonial vegetable seed distribution followed the training program through MAFAR’s Basic Integration of Harmonized Intervention (BINHI). The ministry further committed to establish market linkages to the farmers.
Provincial Environment, Natural Resources and Energy Officer (PENREO) Asnawi Dataman led the three-day site validation, in coordination with respective local government, on November 3-5 to determine the suitable vegetable seeds to be planted on the accumulated four-hectare vegetable garden.
“Our MENRE Minister Abdulraof Macacua instructed our Palaw Rangers to include gardening as part of their routines that led to this convergence,” said Dataman.
The overall goal of this collaboration is to raise agricultural production and ensure food security while strengthening income-generating activities.
The implementation of this project is through MENRE’s Integrated Bangsamoro Greening Program (IBGP) and its component program Kayud ka Bangsanamoro (KKB), MAFAR’s BINHI program and Disaster Risk Reduction – Climate Change Adaptation (DRR – CCA) program of Ministry of the Interior and Local Government’s (MILG).
The World Food Programme through its Food Assistance for Assets will provide P6000-worth of work assistance for the 3-month duration of the demo farming.
Ms. Darren Espanola led the WFP team and encouraged the beneficiaries to continue and sustain the vegetable production as community assets and income generating project.
Meanwhile, MILG team of Provincial Local Government Officers Ramil Alonto, Rashid Romaob and Hadad Rasol; Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA) representative Abbas Estino; and the WFP team were among the convergence teams who facilitated the activity.
Member of Parliament Marjanie Macasalong also attended the activity and pledged his support to the BARMM convergence project. (Bureau of Public Information)
