DAR provides 3-wheeled cargo vehicle to Surigao del Sur farmers’ org
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) recently turned over a 3-wheeled cargo vehicle to farmer-members of the Binati Lateral H Irrigators Association in Barangay Alba, Tago Surigao del Sur to easily transport their products to the marketplace.
Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Leoncio Bautista said the machinery, provided under the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support (CRFPS), will be utilized in purchasing and in the delivery of agricultural inputs which is the current business enterprise of the association.
“This cargo vehicle will serve as an added service of the farmers’ association to its members and non-member farmers. The earnings from the low-rate rental of the vehicle will be used for the maintenance of the vehicle,” Bautista added.
Bautista said that prior to this grant, all the members of the association were engaged in rice farming but on an individual basis of trading. For the past 10 years, they have had no business enterprise until the Convergence on Livelihood Assistance for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Project (CLAAP) project on agrivet supply was granted to them last year. And now, another opportunity opens for the association.
DAR Regional Director Leomides Villareal said the turn-over activity is a positive start for 2021 for the 75 farmer-members of the association.
“This is a proof of serious commitment and dedicated service of the DAR to our clients and beneficiaries,” Villareal said.
Isiang Cornelio, chairman of the Binati Lateral H Irrigators Association, said this project is a welcome opportunity to provide vehicle services to its members.
“Our association would have an advantage with the cargo vehicle we received. This would greatly benefit our farmer-members since more clients would be interested to rent our vehicles because we will be offering a much lower rental fee compared to other private vehicle rental services,” Isiang said.
Cornelio expressed his thanks to the DAR for the new project. “Since 2019, the first project granted to our association was the farm machinery equipment under CRPFS, followed by the CLAAP agrivet supply and now this cargo vehicle. Words are not enough to express how happy we are. We hope to receive more interventions from DAR in the future.”
CRFPS is a major program of DAR focused on extending assistance to calamity prone areas within the agrarian reform communities (ARC).
CLAAP is a joint DAR – Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) partnership which supports DAR's thrust to expand and increase access to economic opportunities for agrarian reform beneficiaries.