The Second Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resources Management Project (CHARMP2) Scale up Project ends this year confident that it will leave empowered communities and promising small businesses.
This is how Harel Padcayan of CHARMP describes the scenario in Kalinga after the CHARMP2 scale-up project of the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera terminates at the end of this year.
CHARMP is a poverty reduction and livelihood project for indigenous communities in the upland areas. It promotes sustainable agricultural development and watershed conservation to enhance the quality of life of the recipient communities.
The two-year scale up project that started in January 2017 covers 18 barangay beneficiaries which are among the poorest and hard-to-reach barangays in the region.
For Kalinga, beneficiaries are Taloctoc in Tanudan; Bugnay in Tinglayan, and Balinciagao Sur in Pasil.
There are four main components of the project namely Social Mobilization and Participatory Investment Planning; Agro Forestry; Agriculture, Agri Business and Income Generating Activities, and Rural Infrastructure Development.
Livelihood assistance
Under the agriculture, agri-business and income generating activities, four livelihood interest groups were assisted on micro-business projects – two in Balinciagao Sur and one each in Bugnay and Lower Taloctoc with total livelihood assistance fund (LAF) of PhP1.2 million.
The Balinciagao Rural Improvement Club (RIC) engaged in fish production and marketing; piglets buy and sell; consolidation and marketing of vegetables and legumes; and trading of agri-inputs fully paying back their PhP350,000 LAF they received and generating P137,960 in sales as of June this year.
Members of Balinciagao RIC were also provided skills training on trial marketing, product launching, tilapia production and best management, bookkeeping, and meat processing.
The Balinciagao Sweet Orange Producers group was given P150, 000 LAF which was already paid back in full. It was able to generate PhP122, 992 sales.
Members also underwent training on post-harvest handling and pest management, bookkeeping, meat processing and trial marketing.
Labbuwan Livelihood Interest Group of Lower Taloctoc got P185, 000 LAF and was able to generate P124, 000 from sale on coffee and swine paying at least half their LAF.
Aside from technology demonstration, members trained on meat processing, trial marketing, bookkeeping and coffee rejuvenation.
The Masarna Farmers Association of Bugnay, meanwhile, received P500, 000 LAF for their business on buy and sell of legumes, and commercial rice, swine raising, basketry weaving, soft broom making, blacksmithing and peanut processing earning total sales of P684, 000 as of June, 2019. Their LAF was fully paid.
The members were trained on soft broom making, meat processing, trial marketing and bookkeeping.
Padcayan said the four LIGs were assessed of their business performance to determine if their LAF repayment will return to them as grant.
“If their LAF is completely returned and after one cycle year they earn income, the whole LAF will be transferred to them as grant so that they can enhance or deviate to other business,” he said.
Agro-forestry
About 51 hectares in the three barangays were planted with grafted rambutan fruit tree spending about PhP2.7 million. Plantations in Lower Taloctoc obtained 92% survival rate; Bugnay – 83%, and Balinciagao Sur – 81%. As required, beneficiaries are obliged to maintain the farm, replanting those damaged by natural calamities, burned or destroyed by stray animals.
Some rambutan plantations are already fruit-bearing.
Rural infra
Under the infrastructure component are 22 infrastructure projects worth PhP40 million. Projects include rehabilitation of communal irrigation systems, construction of domestic water systems, foot paths, foot bridges, warehouse and pavements, and improvement of farm-to-market roads.
Way forward
With the people given the necessary knowledge and skills and assistance which they can use as additional source of livelihood and with small infrastructures already available, hopes are high that families in these three barangay beneficiaries will put all these to good use to lift themselves up from poverty, and towards a better future for the children. **JDP/PAB-PIA-CAR, Kalinga
