The Tres Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Farmers Association Inc. in Cavite renewed its contract to supply agricultural products to the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF) for its childcare program.
The supply contract covers certain agricultural product requirements of the Taiwan nongovernment organization (NGO) to improve maternal, infant, and child nutrition in the Philippines.
The first memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed last year between Danilo Arnes, President of the Tres Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Farmers Association, Inc., and Kai Li Chang, TFCF Philippines Branch Director.
“This partnership has assured the agrarian reform beneficiaries [ARBs] of the association of a steady market for their products and opened up opportunities to further expose their products to other target consumers,” James Arthur T. Dubongco, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II in Cavite said in a statement.
He said the association will continuously supply their harvested agricultural products to the TFCF, including root crops, fruits, and vegetables.
TFCF is an international non-governmental organization established 73 years ago that dedicates itself to providing support to vulnerable children and their families.
TFCF has its main headquarters in Taichung, Taiwan, and its corresponding Philippine branch is in Mandaluyong. It boasts of remarkable achievements in helping underprivileged children and families in around 34 countries, including Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Jordan.
Albay FMRs
Several farm-to-market roads in four towns in Albay Province are expected to improve accessibility and transportation for agrarian reform beneficiaries and boost the connectivity of farms to trading centers in the province.
The projects, with a total budget of P500 million funded under the 2023 Agrarian Reform Fund, will be implemented by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
“The improvement of these roads is essential in connecting our farmers to marketplaces, ultimately increasing opportunities for agrarian reform communities,” DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer I Patricia T. Rastrullo of DAR Albay said.
In Polangui town, the P200-million three-segment project includes the P100-million Pintor-Kinuartilan-La Purisima project which involves concreting of a 5-kilometer stretch. Additionally, the Itaran-Sitio San Luis-Lourdes and Lourdez-Lanigay projects, covering 2.5 kilometers each, cost P100 million in total.
In Guinobatan, the 4-kilometer concreting of Sitio Parina-Mapaco, Sitio Banban, Mapaco-Sitio Manapaonapao-Maguiron, Maguiron-Libas farm-to-market road (FMR) amounts to P100 million.
The Tablon-Cagmanaba project in Oas, covering a distance of 1.2 kilometers focuses on road opening and concreting. The groundbreaking ceremony for this project was held last March 9, marking the commencement of the construction phase.
In the municipality of Libon, the San Vicente-Nino Jesus -San Ramon FMR project is set to cover 3 kilometers, involving the concreting of the road.
Under the MOA between DAR and the local government units, at least 50 percent of ARBs must be employed as laborers in the implementation of the project including out-of-school-youth.