Agusan del Norte
farmers seek to boost harvest processing capacity with new equipment
![ICRC corn mill](../../news_clips50/icrc-corn-mill.jpg)
Staff
from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
orients the residents of Barangay Puting Bato in Agusan del
Norte about the corn sheller and corn mill during the
handover. (Photo: M.Lucero /ICRC) |
By
ICRC
January 18, 2024
MAKATI CITY –
Around 107 families from the suburbs of Cabadbaran City, Agusan del
Norte, some of whom have been displaced by conflict, are set to
improve their harvest processing capacity after receiving
post-harvest machinery from the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC).
Residents of Sitio Lusong
in Barangay Puting Bato received a corn sheller and corn mill from
the ICRC during a handover ceremony in December 2023, which was also
attended by officials of the local government unit and the City
Agriculture Office of Cabadbaran. The ICRC worked with the
provincial government of Agusan del Norte in completing the project.
The corn sheller is used
to quickly and efficiently separate kernels of the corn from the
cob. The corn kernel is processed into fine powder by grinding it in
the corn mill. The new farming equipment will be operated by the
farmers’ association.
At least 37 families
living in Barangay Puting Bato were displaced from their original
homes due to armed conflict. They lost their sources of income and
are in the process of rebuilding through farming, with the help of
the local government and ICRC.
Apart from the equipment,
the displaced families and host residents received food rations,
farm tools, and seeds such as maize, beans and squash. Last year,
107 households were trained by the ICRC and the City Agriculture
Office of Cabadbaran on contouring techniques, inter-cropping and
post-harvest management techniques. It was also in 2023 when the
ICRC completed the rehabilitation of the village’s water supply
system.
“Armed conflicts leave
severe humanitarian consequences on civilians, such as the loss of
jobs and livelihood. We hope that these farm tools leave a positive
impact on the lives of the people, and pave the way for them to have
a brighter future,” says Ishfaq Muhammad Khan, head of the ICRC’s
Butuan office.
The ICRC is a neutral,
impartial and independent organization with an exclusively
humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and
other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and
dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red
Cross and Red Crescent partners.