Gov't unveils P453-M program for Mindanao

The Estrada administration will carry out a P453 million, five-year investment program to make marginal agricultural communities in Region 12 and Muslim Mindanao thriving pockets productivity and self-reliance as soon as hostilities cease in the area, Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara said yesterday.

Angara said that the investment program involves the setting up of fishery and food production projects for around 35,000 families in the two regions and massive farm infrastructure build-up.

He added that the master plan for the program called Household Enhancement Program for the Muslim Communities (HELP-MC) has identified a pilot area within Camp Abubakar and nearby communities. Before the outbreak of the hostilities, the program had been endorsed by the leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"Progress is the missing link in Mindanao peace. The Estrada administration is committed to providing the missing link," Angara said.

Angara said the HELP-MC would lay down the environment for productive farming via farm-to-market roads, irrigation facilities, communal fishponds and post-harvest and processsing facilities.

The government will bankroll these projects and help provide marketing support to the farmers and fishermen, he added.

With support from local agricultural and fishery experts and the University of Southern Mindanao, the Department of Agriculture shall help establish tilapia ponds, goat raising projects and the massive production of crops suitable to the area such as peanuts, abaca and potato.

"The government will provide a complete package of assistance," according to Angara.

Angara said the investment program hopes to increase the household income in the beneficiary communities by 50 percent.

There will also be massive employment, he said, from the state projects and the infrastructure build-up there.

"Jobs and incomes will be our path to lasting peace," he added.