Building New Hope Through Practical Agriculture!

MinDA INKS PARTNERSHIP WITH ACADEME AND PRIVATE SECTOR FOR COMMUNITY-BASED AGRIBUSINESS PROGRAMS

MARAMAG, BUKIDNON – A memorandum of agreement between the Mindanao Development Authority, Central Mindanao University (CMU), and iFresh Corporation was signed today for agribusiness programs that will provide livelihood opportunities for underdeveloped and post-conflict areas in Mindanao.

These interventions aim to help lagging communities, former combatants, rebel returnees, former overseas Filipino workers, and the victims of series of earthquakes to become productive and self-sufficient entrepreneurs.

Under the New Harmonizing Opportunities for People Empowerment (New HOPE) Program, MinDA will be working with state universities and colleges, and other higher education institutions in developing training facilities across Mindanao.

These centers will offer short training courses on agribusiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy – among others.

CMU, in particular, will house a learning, research, and propagation center for free range chicken and other poultry varieties.

Piñol added that the research center is envisioned to develop native chicken breeds which are instrumental in improving the Philippine chicken industry.

“This is simple and practical agriculture. We need to give people the opportunity to raise chicken not just for food, but as a way to make a living,” he added.

Once established, the center will also be positioned as a tourism destination with complete biosecurity features, according to CMU President Dr. Jesus Antonio G. Derije.

“We are looking at this facility as a ‘chicken haven’, that will showcase local varieties of chicken in Mindanao,” Dr. Derije said.

The second phase of interventions or the Livelihood in Villages for Economic Upliftment (LOVE-U) will be a grassroots-based program wherein recipients who have undergone training through the New HOPE centers will be provided with the necessary capital to jumpstart their respective agribusiness ventures.

MinDA, together with their private sector partners such as iFresh Corporation, will also be assisting in marketing and linking these communities to potential buyers in both local and international markets.

Piñol added that a business group from Qatar has shown interest in buying free range chicken from Mindanao.

The implementation of these programs are in coordination with local government units in Mindanao which follows Executive Order 70 or the “whole of nation approach” in governance, according to Maramag Mayor Jose Joel Doromal.

“These projects address development issues in all fronts – from insurgency, livelihood, to peace and order,” he said.

Both the New HOPE and LOVE-U programs are a part of MinDA’s priority thrusts and programs that are geared towards the achievement of “three Ps” – peace, prosperity, and poverty reduction.