BUNAWAN, Agusan del Sur—Farmers in settlement areas in this town have a reason to be happy.  What used to be marshland, being a part of the Agusan marsh, their once sleepy agricultural town, is now a major rice producer. 

Along with the settlement areas in the town of Veruela, settlement areas in this remote town in Agusan del Sur are now enjoying the benefits of the Mindanao Sustainable Settlement Area Development (MinSSAD), a foreign-assisted project funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and being implemented by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

The settlement areas in the province used to be idle, unproductive lands. While there is plenty of water during the rainy season, planting rice during the summer is very discouraging, thus limiting the use of land to only one cropping season.

Since the project’s implementation in 2003, the DAR completed and turned over to the local government units and agrarian-reform communities infrastructure projects worth P494 million.

The projects boosted farming activities in the settlement areas in the two towns and spurred economic activities.

The projects include the 2.94-km Mambalili-Sitio Bong Farm-to-Market Road Project, which was completed and turned over to the local government of Bunawan in April 2005; the Nueva Era-Barangay Camp 3 to Tagumpay Farm-to-Market Road, a 5.06-km road project costing P14.5 million completed and turned over to the local government of Veruela in June 2007; and the P5.4-million San Cogue-San Gabriel Farm-to-Market Road Project, also in the town of Veruela, completed in September 2007.

The DAR MinSSAD also paved the way for the construction of the Lucad Flatslab Bridge in Nueva Era in the town of Bulawan, costing P11.3 million, which was also completed in September 2007.

Several school buildings and health centers, postharvest facilities, such as solar dryers and warehouses, were also built under MinSSAD in the two towns. 

Aside from the infrastructure projects, the DAR also provided livelihood projects to farmer-cooperatives in the form of goat production and carabaos which the farmer-beneficiaries use for land preparation. 

DOE, DOJ sign amended deal for joint task force to monitor oil-price hikes

THE government will look into the reasonableness of price adjustments by oil companies, which have occurred almost weekly.

RDC-Davao to tap gold deposits in Compostela Valley worth $18B

IN the interest of speeding up mineral exploration in the Davao region, the Regional Development Council (RDC) XI (Southern Mindanao) has urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to allow its regional office to directly issue mineral-exploration permits.

Oxfam pools resources, focuses on three most depressed Mindanao regions

DAVAO CITY—After 15 years of implementing peace and development projects in Mindanao, Oxfam Great Britain (OGB), Oxfam Hong Kong (OHK) and Oxfam-Novib (ON) have pooled their resources to implement a “one-Oxfam” project in three most depressed regions in Mindanao.

RP to tap into multitranche facility of ADB this year

THE Philippines has expressed interest in tapping additional financing for various projects through the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF) this year.

DA sets aside P70M for piglets, feed subsidies in C. Luzon, Calabarzon

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to carry out a P70-million piglet subsidy and feed-support program for backyard hog growers in typhoon-battered regions of Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) and Central Luzon.

12 Australian mining firms in RP compliant with standards, says envoy

THE Australian envoy to Manila has maintained that all 12 Australian mining firms operating in the country submit to the “highest safety and environmental standards,” amid complaints of human-rights abuse against one Australian firm operating in Nueva Vizcaya on charges of killings, harassments and mass displacement of indigenous tribes.

Town in Agusan marshland now a major rice producer

BUNAWAN, Agusan del Sur—Farmers in settlement areas in this town have a reason to be happy.  What used to be marshland, being a part of the Agusan marsh, their once sleepy agricultural town, is now a major rice producer.