DAR names NNC-8 top institutional buyer of ARB products

By JOSE ALSMITH L. SORIA
July 5, 2026

TACLOBAN CITY – The National Nutrition Council (NNC) in Eastern Visayas was named among top institutional buyers of agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (ARBOs) harvests in 2025 by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) through its Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (PAHP) Project.

With P4.5 million worth of purchases of ARBOs products made from January to December last year for their “Tutok Kainan” program, NNC-8 ranked first among NNCs across the country earning the top institutional buyer honors for this category.

NNC Region VIII Nutrition Program Coordinator, Dr. Catalino Dotollo Jr., received the award at Sequoia Hotel Manila Bay during the PAHP awards and recognition ceremony on June 25 this year.

DAR likewise gave recognition to the six ARBOs from Region-8 for their unwavering and sustained partnership with the NNC which include the Cervantes Integrated Organic Farmers Association, Inc. in Catarman, Northern Samar; Allen Organic Vegetable Raiser Agriculture Cooperative in Allen, Northern Samar; Far East Farmers Agrarian Reform Cooperative in Can-Avid, Eastern Samar; San Roque Farmers Association of Daram, Inc. in Daram, Samar; Association of Farmers and Advocates of Organic Farming, Inc. in Bontoc, Southern Leyte; and the Omaganhan Farmers Agrarian Reform Cooperative, OFMPC in Tabango, Leyte.

Eastern Visayas’ PAHP Regional Point Person, Adriano Badana, outshone point persons from other regions to bag the most outstanding regional point person in 2025.

Meanwhile, Provincial PAHP point persons, Jennefer Medilo (Southern Leyte), Maria Jessa Labagala (Samar), Roberto Cajipe (Leyte) Wilmar Caparal (Northern Samar), and Jocyne Nizza Palacio (Eastern Samar) were also recognized for their incomparable dedication in providing assistance in the implementation of the PAHP Project and for their remarkable efforts in assisting the ARBOs.

Every year, DAR honors top institutional buyers in recognition of their invaluable support to the PAHP Project and the ARBOs.

Under the PAHP Project, DAR links ARBOs to institutional buyers for their steady markets while providing nutritious food to beneficiaries of the government’s various feeding programs.

DAR Eastern Visayas Regional Director, Atty. Robert Anthony Yu, assured the ARBOs to link them to more institutional buyers, particularly in the private sector, for more steady markets for their products.