93 farmers get farm animals from NCotabato gov't

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines - Provincial officials on Friday led the initial dispersal of farm animals to 93 farmers in Midsayap town affected by man-made and natural calamities.

The farmer-beneficiaries from 11 districts in Midsayap, home to mixed Moro and Christian communities, received a total of 123 heads of cattle and more than a hundred goats, which they can breed both for dairy and meat production.

The animal dispersal project is a key program of the office of North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, according to Midsayap Mayor Romeo Araña.

Araña said the provincial government also gave out 70 heads of swine to local Christian farmers, mostly from barangays affected by recent floods and conflicts instigated by bandits.

“We are grateful to the provincial government for helping us out in providing livelihood to these farmers,” Araña said.

Rubber forum

Araña said they are sending delegates from Midsayap to the August 19 “rubber forum” in Kabacan town in North Cotabato, organized by Mendoza’s office, to provide stakeholders a venue where they can discuss the prospects of rubber tree propagation and possible solutions to marketing constraints besetting local producers.

Mendoza, who is among several officials who will jointly preside over the forum, said the event is being held ahead of the 10-day “Kalivungan Festival,” which will start on August 20.

Organizers are expecting rubber tree farmers to participate in the festival, which will highlight the socio-economic and eco-tourism potentials of North Cotabato.

Mendoza said among the issues to be tackled in the forum is the mounting perception by local farmers that there are “cartels” that manipulate the prices of processed rubber, which supposedly has very high market demand abroad.

At least 500,000 farmers in North Cotabato have shifted to rubber tree production.

“There is a big demand for processed rubber in the international market. We want our farmers, through proper trading protocols and with the help of line agencies of the government, to have access to buyers that can pay them appropriately for their products,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza said they also see large-scale production in the province as the easiest way to restore the area’s `forest cover,’ from where springs and creeks can spring from as potential sources of water.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is encourating the massive planting of rubber trees (Hevea Brasiliensis) to reforest barren lands since farmers are sure to protect them for as long as the trees produce raw, marketable white sap called latex, in a lifespan of 25 to 30 years.

The August 19 rubber forum will be held at the auditorium of the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan town, at the backdrop of tight security.

Kalivungan Festival

Units of the Army’s 602nd Brigade, the North Cotabato provincial police, and the 10th Infantry Division are now tightly securing the surroundings of Kidapawan City and neighboring towns to ensure the safety of participants to the rubber forum and the forthcoming Kalivungan Festival.

The festival will be held at the sprawling provincial capitol compound in Barangay Amas in Kidapawan City.

North Cotabato’s cross-section “tri-people” or Moro, Christian and Indigenous non-Muslim communities, have been invited to join the Kalivungan event.

Mendoza said she is optimistic the Kalivungan Festival will usher in prospective investors than can pour in capital inputs for the local rubber industry.

“There are overwhelming potentials, so promising [is the] prospects for rubber farming in the province,” Mendoza said.