MOA on poverty reduction in rural areas inked

MANILA, Philippines - A memorandum of agreement seeking to push poverty reduction efforts in the provinces was signed recently by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and an agricultural institution.

The DAR-Region 3 has partnered with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to implement the “Market-Oriented Agri-Technology and Agri-Extension Services under the Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS)” in the provinces of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija.

ARCCESS is a support service delivery mechanism of DAR created to contribute to the goals of rural poverty reduction particularly in agrarian reform areas.

DAR-Region 3 director Antonio Evangelista said one of the main objectives of the ARCCESS Project is to improve the productivity of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) by providing subsidies to ARB organizations (ARBOs) in the form of agri-technology and agri-extension services.

“For Bulacan and Nueva Ecija, SEARCA will support 15 ARBOs in preparation of their farm production plans, common service facility manual, crop production techno-guides and conduct of capacity building program,” Evangelista said.

 SEARCA’s assistance to DAR is part of its mandate to build the capacities of the institutions working in agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia.

The two agencies had worked together in various capacity building and development programs aimed at strengthening the country’s agrarian reform communities.

The MOA was signed by Evangelista in behalf of DAR, while SEARCA director Gil Saguiguit Jr. signed for the regional research center.