Dream ‘Food Basket in South’ within sigh

Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor has expressed optimism that the dream "Food Basket in the South" will soon be realized with the continued cooperation of the various entities involved in the implementation of various rural infrastructure projects and other interventions under the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP).

Montemayor, who presided the MRDP 4th PMB meeting in Davao City last month, said MRDP is a big help in the implementation of the Local Government Code (RA 7160) and the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA).

The program covers four important project components: rural infrastructure, community funds for agricultural development (CFAD), rural development planning for agricultural productivity (RDPAP) and coastal and marine biodiversity conservation (CMBC).

A known advocate of the small farmers and fisherfolk, Montemayor is confident that with the implementation of the projects under MRDP, a dramatic change will occur in the lives of the people in the countryside.

He said that eventually, with the implementation of the RDPAP component of the program, an integrated and synchronized development plan from the community to the national level would be established, where the community needs are reflected in the national development plan.

The first phase of the program (2000-2003) covers Compostela province of Region XI, Cotabato and Sultran Kudarat of Region XII, Agusan del Sur of Region XIII and Maguindanao of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Gov. Antonio A. Gallardo, MRDP program director, reported during the PMB meeting that despite the war in Central Mindanao and the unstable peace and order situation in several areas, the delay in the implementation of the program remains manageable.

Gallardo reported that about 315 kilometers of farm-to-market road (FMR), costing about P315.42 million are expected to be rehabilitated before the end of year 2001. About 75.22 kilometers have been completed in the provinces of Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

For irrigation, 39 irrigation schemes costing about P180.24 million are due for completion this year to cover at least 3,941 hectares of agricultural land. In the over-all, the program has achieved 20.46 percent accomplishment.

Under the CFAD component, at least P39.8 million worth of various livelihood projects have been approved in 258 barangays of the 32 municipalities covered in the five provinces.

Priority is given to indigenous people, women’s group and other disadvantaged sectors in the community.

The program component also identified and trained municipal and barangay facilitators (MFs, BFs) to identify and help capacitate the beneficiary groups.

A multi-sectoral committee (MSC) was also installed in each municipal LGU beneficiaries to approve and prioritize the proposed livelihood projects according to the program’s criteria.

For the RDPAP component, the RDMTs, the "think-tanks" in the LGUs, had been installed in the municipal and provincial LGUs of the five provinces and 26 municipalities. The RDMT serves as the prime movers in integrating and synchronizing barangay development plans in their respective areas.

Montemayor has appointed Renato P. Manantan, a senior DA staff, to serve as MRDP program co-director.

Manantan, who hails from Midsayap town in Cotabato province was the former co-director of Caraballo and Southern Cordillera Agricultural Development Program (CASCADE), a special project of the Department of Agriculture jointly funded by the government of the Philippines and the European Union. – MRDP-GEM