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The
Municipal Agrarian Reform Office in Merida, Leyte, under
Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer Amita Barte,
successfully linked the Mat-e Agrarian Reform
Beneficiaries Association (MARBA) to the Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology (BJMP) in Isabel, Leyte as
institutional buyer for the farmer’s harvests.
(Photo by MARO Amita Barte) |
BJMP signs
marketing agreement with Merida farmers
Press Release
February 26, 2021
MERIDA, Leyte –
Another agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organization (ARBO) from the
western part of the province of Leyte recently entered into a
marketing agreement with an institutional buyer for their harvests.
OIC-Regional Director
Ismael P. Aya-ay disclosed that the Mat-e Agrarian Reform
Beneficiaries Association (MARBA), based in this fifth-class
municipality, became the 15th ARBO in Eastern Visayas to be linked
successfully to an institutional buyer by the Department of Agrarian
Reform (DAR) under the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and
Poverty (EPAHP) program.
Municipal Agrarian Reform
Program Officer (MARPO) Amita Barte reported that the signing of the
marketing agreement took place on February 3 at her office and in
front of MARBA president, Carllito Dela Cruz and Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology (BJMP) District Jail Warden, SJO4 Basilio
Madula Jr.
Also present in the event
were MARPO staff Mateo Maratas and BJMP Jail Officer 2 Allan Perez.
Barte explained that in their agreement, the BJMP of Isabel town
will purchase food supplies from the DAR-assisted farmer
organization, such as vegetables and poultry products, to be used in
feeding persons deprived of liberty (PDL). BJMP will buy MARBA’s
products based on the prevailing market price, and will pick them up
in a designated area, she added.
Under the EPAHP, according
to Aya-ay, instead of buying food supplies elsewhere, the
city/district/municipality jails as well as the Department of
Health’s-retained hospitals are encouraged to procure food supplies
for the feeding of PDLs and in-patients, respectively, from the
ARBOs, which is allowed by the Government Procurement Policy Board
thru Resolution No. 17-2016. He also emphasized that under the
program, farmers are guaranteed a ready market for their products
while hospitals and jails are assured of freshly harvested fruits
and vegetables.
