TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) Regional Director Lorenzo Caranguian gave recognition to the farmers and leaders of this city for their efforts in placing the name of the city as well as the province in the map of the country’s agricultural achievers.
Citing this year’s festivals theme ‘Parabor iti Apo intayo pagyamanan, Tabuk City, agtultuloy nga aywanan,’ the city he said is blessed with so many resources that the people have to be thankful for, most especially he said the 3Fs.
First F he cited is the farm or field for which Tabuk City is unique. He said that in the Bible the Garden of Eden is perceived as a place with a river that supplies water for the massive food producing area. Tabuk he said has these characteristics with its vast rice, corn and coffee areas and the Chico River as water source. This he said is a blessing since the people did not work for it but was just bestowed to them by God.
“Remove agriculture or the farms in Tabuk and it will be another story,” he said adding that Tabuk became a city because of the income coming from its harvests.
“The second F to thank are the farmers, since the fields will be deemed useless without them,” he said adding that he felt disappointment every time farmers are cited as lowly for being considered poor and for their shabby apparel.
Caranguian said that compared to other professions for which people tend to look up to, most people tend to look down on farmers forgetting that the farmers are the ones feeding them.
“If there are no farmers, there will be no food,” the agricultural official said.
He also expressed concern over the aging farmers saying that the average age of farmers in the country is now 58 to 59 years old. The question he said is who will be taking their place considering the younger generation’s preference for other courses despite efforts of the government to provide scholarships, free trainings and free tuition fees for agricultural courses.
Caranguian said that taking up agriculture as a profession should not be underestimated citing that people would sometime think of it as a last option for the slow learners. Farmers need to be intelligent citing how other countries like Japan look up to their farmers because of their contribution to food production and the technologies like research, trainings, and machineries they employ in their farming activities.
Caranguian said that the third F that the people should be thankful for is the Force, which is represented by the local leadership and institutions who’s support has made all the agricultural achievements of the city a reality. Tabuk City and Kalinga, he said, had been recognized as multi-awarded in the fields of agriculture because of the guidance and commitment of their leaders disclosing that the DA would always favor leaders who are willing to give their commitment and counterpart in any government endeavor.
“The reason why Tabuk City and Kalinga got the biggest share in the World Bank funded Philippine Rural Development Program is because they (local officials ) think big and are willing to commit and are fast in implementing their projects,” he underscored. They have the 4Ms which is Maraming proposal, Mabilis na mag-propose, pinaka-Magandang proposal, and pinaka-Mabuluhan na proposal, he said.
Caranguian said that the P196M Bulanao to Amlao road is the longest PRDP-funded road in the country.
In addition, the DA, he said, will be piloting Tabuk City for its Corporate Rice Farming project to be provided with machineries, trainings and other technical support. Tabuk he said was also a recipient of four Small Scale Irrigation Projects amounting to around P28M.
With all these developments, the director also reminded the people to remember the 3Ps as a part of their development endeavors. First is for the Protection of its natural resources or environment. He pointed the destructive repercussions of non-organic farm inputs, deforestation due to corn farming in uphill or mountainous areas, and denudation along the Chico River line causing landslides in several areas. Farming should be made more responsible and sustainable, he said.
Second is for the people to Produce and make use of any possible arable lands. The challenge is for farmers to increase their harvest, increase yield and reduce production cost. He underscored the importance of farmers in the city in the country’s rice sufficiency efforts emphasizing the need for farmers to graduate from the traditional methods and start looking at farming as an agri-business.
The third P is for the people to keep Praying for divine protection for God to spare the place from destructive calamities.
During the program, the following agricultural achievers were recognized: National Small Water Impounding Association awardee Tanggal of Turod, Bulo; National Rice Achiever awardee Evelyn Orsit; Regional Gawad Saka Outstanding Young Farmer Jonard Manzano; Regional Gawad Saka RIC Bantay; Regional Gawad Saka integrated Rice-Based farming System Honorio Clemencia Sr.; and Regional Gawad Saka-Entrepreneur Grace Agtina. **Geraldine G. Dumallig, Tabuk CIO
