Cagayan Valley farmers to deliver agricultural products in hospitals and jails
Virtual Signing of agreement conducted between the DAR, BJMP, DOH and ARBOs of Cagayan Valley.
To help boost the income of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 2 conducted a virtual signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on September 22, 2020 to enable the members of ARBs organizations (ARBOs) to deliver their agricultural products to meet the regular food requirements of prisons and patients in Cagayan Valley.
DAR Secretary John R. Castriciones expressed his heartfelt gratitude for all those involved in the program, which is being implemented under “Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty Program (EPHAP) in Region 2, a partnership where government institutions converged to support the poor people in the countryside
“I am always been the believer of the statement “that farmers are one of the heroes of our country, the reason why in this time of pandemic, I am exerting a lot of effort to really go around despite the risk of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our desire is to strengthen the hope of our farmers because they play a vital role in the development of our society,” he said.
DAR-Cagayan Valley Regional Director Samuel S. Solomero said the DAR will assist and empower the ARBs and ARBOs to increase their production and engagement in agri-based and agri-related enterprises, for them to continually contribute to the well-being and improvement of quality of lives of those living in the agrarian reform communities (ARCs).
Virtual Signing of agreement conducted between the DAR, BJMP, DOH and ARBOs of Cagayan Valley.
He said that the EPAHP initiative aims to contribute in addressing hunger and poverty in the country by converging relevant programs of participating government agencies to maximize results for the benefit of the poor and marginalized sector.
“Nagpapasalamat po kami sa mga partner agencies for signing the MOU and signing the marketing agreement with our ARBOs to fight hunger and poverty,” Solomero said.
The MOU signing was led by Regional Director Solomero with DOH Cagayan Valley Regional Director Rio L. Magpantay, BJMP-Cagayan Valley Regional Director Lyndon Dichoso Torres, Providers MPC Chairperson Marie Dee B. Belagan with simultaneous signing of marketing agreements of five ARBOs from provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya with DOH hospital heads, BJMP Wardens and the Medical Mission Group.
The EPAHP intends to contribute to the national government’s efforts in addressing hunger and poverty to directly benefit the poorer sector of the society through the synergy and convergence of the essential services under the Office of the President-Office of the Cabinet Secretary, Departments of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Agrarian Reform (DAR), Agriculture (DA), Interior and Local Government (DILG), Education (DepEd), Health (DOH), Science and Technology (DOST), Trade and Industry (DTI), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Population Commission (POPCOM), and LANDBANK.
