The 29th anniversary celebration of the Department of Agriculture -Cordillera focused the spotlight to the farmers and partners of DA-CAR under the Gawad Saka Awards; Rice Achievers Awards; and Organic Agriculture Awards. A total of 41 awards were given to the winners and were handed plaques and cheques.
Kalinga being the champion province got 14 out of the 41 awards, followed by the province of Benguet with 10 awards, ranked 3rd was the province of Apayao with 7 awards, Ifugao at 4th place with 6 awards, Abra at 5th with 2 awards, and lastly Mountain Province with 2 awards.
However, to express the genuine gratitude of the province of Ifugao to DA-CAR, a re-awarding ceremony was conducted at the provincial capitol of Ifugao graced by Governor Pedro G. Mayam-o last July 3, 2017.
Mayam-o encouraged the farmers to continue the great efforts they had started in sustaining the agriculture industry in their province and hoped to achieve more awards in the succeeding years. Also, he reminded the people to work together to support agriculture which is one of his platforms in meeting the demands of the community and even the neighboring provinces.
For Gawad Saka Awards, Ifugao was able to garner recognition from the categories of Outstanding Provincial Agriculture and Fishery Council (PAFC) and Outstanding 4-H Club and was given Php 50,000 for both. Then, a Gawad Saka Citation Award which is the Outstanding Fisherfolk-Fishculture awarded to Mr. Moreno C. Dango with a certificate of recognition.
For Organic Agriculture Achievers Awards, the province received Php 500,000 (project grant) under the Outstanding Province category; Php25, 000 for the Outstanding Provincial focal person which was awarded to Ms. Catherine V. Buenaventura; and Php 50,000 for Outstanding Small Farmer-Individual which was given to Mr. Villafuerte S. Camat Jr. The total of awarded cheques was Php675,000.
Ms. Evangeline Arganda of the Regional Executive Director’s Office represented DA-CAR together with the Agricultural Program Coordinating Officer (APCO) of Ifugao, Mr. Charlemagne B. Monayao.**Leny Mendoza
