Davao City – Farmers, fisherfolk, government planners and leaders of people’s organisations in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) came to Davao City yesterday for a two-day workshop which aims to craft the Agriculture and Fisheries Master Plan for the Region.
Sponsored by the Department of Agriculture as its support program for the newly-organised BARMM, the two-day event will be the first attempt ever to gather agriculture and fisheries stakeholders to lay down the road map for the development of a region wracked by conflict for so long and beset with one of the highest poverty levels in the country.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, who was designated by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte as his “point man” for the BARMM said the Consultative Workshop in Crafting the Agriculture and Fisheries Master Plan will serve as the foundation of all programs for agriculture and fisheries in the region.
“I and the other officials of the DA are not here to tell you what to do. We are here to help you realise your dreams. We are here to help you build the house of prosperity and peace where you and your people could dwell in,” Sec. Piñol said in his address during the opening.
He said the crafting of the BARMM Agriculture and Fisheries Master Plan must be fast tracked so that the needed funding support could be included in the 2020 budget of the national government which is being finalised now.
BARMM Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) Mohamad Yacob said the event is historic and could serve as the turning point in the development of agriculture and fisheries in the region.
“We are making history here. For the first time, we gather to chart our future in agriculture and fisheries in the Bangsamoro Region and we would like to thank President Duterte for his support and encouragement,” Minister Yacob said.
The first ever in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ( BARMM ) Agriculture and Fisheries Master Plan Assembly is participated by stakeholders like farmers leaders, fisherfolks, people’s organization, development planners, agriculturists, engineers, and local officials. of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform ( MAFAR ).
Once the draft master plan has been completed, it will be presented to BARMM Chief Minister Ahod ” Murad ” Ebrahim by MAFAR Minister Yacob.
Secretary Piñol will submit another copy of the draft master plan to President Rodrigo Duterte before his State of the Nation Address on July 22.
Aside from Minister Yacob, also present yesterday was Mohajirin Ali, BARMM Planning and Development Minister and local planning officials from all the provinces of Tawitawi, Sulu, Basilan, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao.
On the part of the Department of Agriculture, all Mindanao directors of DA and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) led by RED Ricardo Oñate, Regional Director, DA – RFO XI and Regional Director Fathma Idris of BFAR XI were also present.
The conduct of the planning workshop is handled by Carlos Magnaye, Assistant Secretary, DA – PMS, Sailila Abdula, Executive Director, Philrice with support from Eduardo Gongona, Undersecretary for Fisheries, BFAR, and Evelyn Laviña, Undersecretary for High Value Crops and Rural Credit, DA and other bureaus of the DA.
The planning workshop will end today and the draft Master Plan is expected to be completed by next week.
(Photos by DA AFID Biyaheng Bukid team.)
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