The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will assist the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in developing its agricultural area following the signing of an agreement aimed at improving farm productivity in the new geopolitical entity.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with BARMM Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform Minister Mohammad S. Yacob for the development of farm areas in the region.
The MOA includes programs for the development of high-value crops, construction of farm-to-market roads and solar-powered irrigation systems, and livestock development, among others. These interventions would cost some P303 million.
The DA has also committed to help the BARMM craft its 10-year agriculture master plan which will serve as a guide to the development of the region’s agriculture and fisheries sector.
“The DA and the BARMM Agriculture Ministry will convene a multi-sectoral workshop shortly after the elections to prepare the Agri-Fisheries Master Plan,” Piñol said.
“With its rich volcanic soil and the distinction of being typhoon free, the DA is eyeing the BARMM as a prospective food and fisheries production area for the country,” he added.
The newly established BARMM is comprised of the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Maguindanao, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi and the City of Cotabato.
Piñol noted that the BARMM has one of the highest poverty incidence among the regions, despite having vast natural resources, such as the fishing grounds of Lake Lanao and Liguasan Marsh.
“The [region’s] agriculture sector has been marked with corruption. Ghost projects, uncompleted road networks, nonfunctioning irrigation systems and missing bridges marred the implementation of agricultural programs in the past,” he said.
“The last administration was not exempted from issues of corruption with reports reaching the DA that farm equipment, including tractors, were sold to private individuals instead of being given to farmers’ organizations shortly before the turnover of the DA-ARMM to the BARMM Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries,” he added.