DA turns over to Calbayog Social Action Center the biggest organic farming enterprise in the region

By EMY C. BONIFACIO, Samar News.com
October 18, 2010

CATBALOGAN, Samar  –  A 9.7 million worth of agricultural package that includes installation of greenhouse facilities as well as the conduct of a farmers’ capacity building program was formally handed-over by the Department of Agriculture during its blessing and turn-over ceremony held at the Sustainable Agriculture Learning Center (SALC) in Brgy. Limarayon, Calbayog City on October 13, 2010.

The facility was blessed by Bishop Isabelo Abarquez of the Diocese of Calbayog. He was assisted by DA Director Leo Cañeda, Ms. Maricar Constantino of the National Agri-business Corporation (NABCOR), Ms. Marivic Manaligod of Manna-lig Agri Industrial Corporation, WESA DEF, OCCI, Ms. Gina D. Yulo of the UCPB, other guests and barangay residents.

The Greenhouse Facility Project was provided to the Social Action Center of Calbayog City by the Department of Agriculture (DA) under the leadership of then Sec. Arthur Yap, as part of the department’s “Gulayan sa Parokya Project”.  The facility serves as a model for farmers in organic farming. Each of the 16 greenhouses occupies a 120 sq. meter area within the 5.6 hectares agricultural land owned by the Diocese of Calbayog. Its nurseries have 80 sq meters area.

According to the SAC Director, Fr. Cesar Aculan, 10 dioceses in the country have been identified and selected by the Department of Agriculture to pilot a mass production of organically-grown high value vegetables in a modern green house facility. “However, even before we became a recipient for the project, we were already implementing an Organic Agriculture Program”, the SAC director explains. He recalls having started in 2002 with 50 MASIPAG varieties, brought by Fr. Pio Ignacio. Using organic farming, they tried planting the varieties in a ¼ hectare trial farm that became productive.

DA Regional Director, Mr. Leo Cañeda, considers the project the “Biggest Organic Farming Enterprise in Eastern Visayas”. He mentioned that out of the 143 local government units in the region, the SAC facility in Brgy. Limarayon is the biggest that he had known. He did not fail to extend his thanks to the Social Action Center for spearheading the project implementation, the partners such as the UCPB, OCCI, CIIF, NABCOR and the Manna-Lig Agri-Industrial Corporation for the support in the realization of the project. He especially thanked Calbayog Mayor Reynaldo S. Uy for being a prime mover in sustainable agriculture efforts. According to him, Calbayog always offers good news with either a farmer’s congress or a new project where he frequently gets invited. He encouraged the barangay folks to maximize the use of the said facility and expressed hopes that this intervention will not only be helping the local residents but the entire region, as well, in attaining sustainable development of organic agriculture towards food security. “There will be no food security without sustainable agriculture, no sustainable agriculture without organic farming” Cañeda adds.

The City Agriculturist, Ms. Adelina Ocenar, who represented Mayor Reynaldo S. Uy, conveyed the mayor’s support on sustainable farming.  She shared Mayor Uy’s vision for food sufficiency in Calbayog      stressing that no Calbayognon would suffer from hunger in the next few years. Ocenar assured the farmers that a Bagsakan Center has been provided jointly by the Department of Agriculture and the City government for their products. The freezers and coolers bought offered a big help to the members of the 1st Fruit and Vegetables Association in the city.

In the same manner, 1st District of Samar Representative, Congressman Mel Senen Sarmiento, sent a personal note to Fr. Cesar Aculan apologizing for his inability to respond to the invitation. He congratulated the SAC for concentrating on innovative ways to address global poverty before the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) deadline.

In a short welcome remarks, Brgy. Chairman Manuales of Brgy. Limarayon cited a 2009 statistic where the barangay, has been ranked to be one of the highest number of cases on malnutrition. The project was instrumental not only in improving the nutritional status of most of their children but in generating self-employment among the local residents.

Meanwhile, 28 farmers received their Certificates of Completion after successfully acquiring the skills and expertise from a Seminar workshop on Organic Farming and Training on Greenhouse Operation and Management that they attended last August 1-18, 2010 at the SALC.

In a related story, the SAC is now preparing for the Annual Farmers Day Celebration on October 28-29 in Calbayog where a mini fair trade, farmers’ forum and turn-over of equipments to farmer-beneficiaries identified by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) as armed conflict areas will be witnessed by at least 150 to 200 farmers gathered on that occasion.