Estrella identifies 3 new special projects of DAR
Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III recently identified three (3) new special projects of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), in response to the thrust of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to give priority to boosting the agriculture sector of the country.
Estrella identified Value Chain Boosting, Land-Based Digitalization, and Agrarian Reform Communities (ARC) Product Development and Standardization/Registration as the new special projects of the DAR.
Estrella tapped Jeffery Galan, Undersecretary for Finance Management and Administration to spearhead the preparation and initial management of the said DAR's new special projects.
Estrella said that under the value-chain boosting, the DAR will target the overall improvement of existing processes and the capacities of various institutions related to the country’s agricultural production, specifically rice, corn, coconut, and livestock, to build better market linkage for the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).
“It’s about time that we further strengthen market linkage for our ARBs through value chain so that they will be fairly compensated for their investments in farming,” Estrella stressed.
A value chain is a business model that describes the full range of activities that involve bringing a product from conception to distribution or marketing, and everything in between – such as procuring raw materials, manufacturing, and marketing activities.
Estrella said that helping the members of the ARB organizations sell their harvests direct to the market or institutional buyers to maximize their earning potential would motivate them to produce more quality products and lead to a sustained supply of food and raw materials.
The project on land-based digitalization involves the updating and enhancement of the existing database of the DAR on farmers, land grants, and the status of lands into a more comprehensive farmers registry, complete data mapping, and profiling of the farmers’ crops.
Galan said the improved database system will serve as the repository of varied information pertaining to agrarian reform program implementation where different stakeholders can access official data as a reference.
ARC product development and standardization/registration concern the development of product protocols that can be replicated as successful agri-enterprise. It also deals with the consolidation of the related databases on support services being provided by DAR and other government instrumentalities to the ARBs, including the subsequent upload of the same to a created site.