DAR turns over P15.5-M machineries

By JOSE ALSMITH L. SORIA
September 16, 2014

TACLOBAN CITY – Some P15.5 million worth of farm machineries were turned over recently by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to five agrarian reform beneficiary organizations (ARBOs) in Leyte, Samar and Eastern Samar.

The amount, according to Regional Director Sheila Enciso, is the total cost of the five tractors given away to ARBOs in severely affected provinces by the super typhoon “Yolanda”.

Enciso added that the machines were primarily intended for the clearing and rehabilitation of farm lots in areas greatly affected by the typhoon.

Based on available data, Leyte, Eastern Samar and Samar were the hardest hit provinces with thousands of people reported dead, while millions of pesos worth of properties were damaged. Thus, three tractors were distributed in Leyte, while one tractor each for the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar.

DAR entrusted to five ARBOs the operations and maintenance of the machines which cost P3,117,920 per unit.

For Leyte, DAR turned over the machines to the St. Benedict’s Association for Sustainable Farming which is based in Tunga, the Boroc Agricultural Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Ormoc and the Zaragosa Agrarian Cooperative in Matalom; while for Eastern Samar and Samar, DAR turned over the machines to the Carapdapan Small Farmers and Fishermen Producers Cooperative based in Salcedo, Eastern Samar and the Legaspi Farmers and Fishermen Association in Marabut, Samar, respectively.

These tractors were funded under the Agrarian Reform Communities Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS) project.

Though these were not among the recommended common service facilities (CSFs) for the ARCCESS project, Enciso explained that these were provided by the agency in addition for the typhoon-affected areas to help out clear the farms from debris and restore them back to their productive state.