THE Department of Agriculture (DA) Gender and Development (GAD) Program in the Davao Region spearheaded the soft launching and ceremonial cacao and coffee planting of more than 1,000 seedlings to the Indigenous Peoples (IP) Women’s Organic Village in Malamboon Elementary School at Sitio Malamboon, Barangay Malabog, Davao City.
More than 300 persons from the Ata-Manobo tribe benefited from the program where 1,000 hills were prepared to be planted with seedlings of the Café Arabica variety.
Undersecretary for Special Concerns and Director for DA’s GAD Bernadette Romulo-Puyat inaugurated the Soft Launching Ceremonial Planting together with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
Puyat told the IPs they will continue to monitor the projects in the area, as well as provide interventions for the village.
“Babalik at babalik po kami para masigurado naming naimplemento natin ’yung mga proyekto,” Puyat said.
Meanwhile, Duterte promised to allocate P10 million for coffee plantation and production in Barangay Malabog for the year 2015.
DA Davao Regional Coordinator for GAD Bong Año said the event was a jump-start for several projects from the agriculture sector including the plan for inland aquaculture and establishment of demo farm in Barangay Malabog.
Datu Generoso Baon, an IP’s mandatory representative and one of the beneficiaries, said they are thankful this government service reached their area.
He also swore to take good care of the interventions given by the agriculture sector to them.
The IP Women’s Organic Village Project is a typical rural development initiative spearheaded by the DA Davao GAD Focal System to help raise the capacities of women in agriculture, especially in far- flung areas.
In this project, women are taking the lead by allowing them to partake in the entire process of human and community development which includes cacao production.
The project also promoted an ecologically sound and balance biodiversified and integrated farming system with preference on organic cacao production, vegetable natural farming production, livestock production and in-land fish farming.