DAR-Sarangani to develop its 19th agrarian reform community
Maasim, Sarangani – As a step closer to the realization of creating Sarangani province's 19th agrarian reform community (ARC), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in this province recently held a series of consultations in barangays Kanalo, Pananag, and Lumasal in the town of Maasim to improve the economic lives of around 1,100 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and other small farmers.
Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Penie Louie Panuncillo said the Barangay Workshop Consultations (BWC) would eventually create the KALUPA ARC, which stands for the barangays of Kanalo, Lumasal and Pananag.
The development of KALUPA ARC aims to make sustainable rural development through the provision of various support services accessible to the ARBs.
“We need to hear their needs, as well as their issues and concerns, to include in our proposed ARC development plan, where we would be able to recommend improvements in their livelihood and resolve development gaps,” he said.
Panuncillo added that the BWC, which is conducted by the ARC-Technical Working Group, is a crucial step involving all sectoral representatives of each concerned barangay.
An ARC is a barangay or a cluster of contiguous barangays with a critical mass of farmers or farm workers where the main thrust of agrarian development - land tenure improvement and effective delivery of support services - is being implemented.