Exactly five days after they were shown income generating options during a Livelihood Orientation, leaders and farmers of the town of Taraka, Lanao del Sur will embark on a 3-day journey to three progressive provinces to witness best practices in agriculture which they could copy.
Taraka, a 4th-class town in the periphery of the 39,000-hectare Lake Lanao with a poverty incidence of 66.86%, has been selected by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) as one of the pilot areas in Lanao del Sur for the implementation of livelihood projects to improve productivity and address poverty.
The MinDA arranged the 3-day exposure trip to show to the officials and farmers of the town the economic condition of farmers who embrace modern agricultural practices.
The estimated 100-person delegation will leave Taraka on Sunday using a bus lent by the local government unit of M’lang, my hometown, to visit North Cotabato, Davao del Sur and South Cotabato.
On Monday, the leaders and farmers of Taraka will participate in a guided tour of several facilities. Among the sites that they will visit are:
1. The Dairy Goat Multiplier Farm of the Mt. Carmel Baptist Rural Life Centre (MBLRC) which received a P10-M grant from the Department of Agriculture (DA) where they will be briefed on dairy goat farming and the Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT).
2. The Solar-Powered Irrigation System (SPIS) in Palma Perez M’lang, North Cotabato which provides water to an area which previously could plant only once a year. This is a major concern of rice farmers in Taraka who plant rice in 2,000-hectares of land without irrigation.
3. The Adelaide River Farm in Polomolok, South Cotabato where they will see actual cattle fattening operations by former OFW Arnel Corpuz. Along the way, they will be shown fields of corn and Sorghum.
4. The iFresh Corporation Feed Processing facility in Polomolok, South Cotabato and layer and broiler farms along the way.
On Wednesday, the farmers and barangay officials will travel back to Taraka but Mayor Nashida Gandarma-Sumagayan and Vice Mayor Amenodin Sumagayan will proceed to the MinDA office in Davao City for a half-day planning meeting.
Along with the members of the municipal council and key officials like the planning officer, the agriculture officer, budget officer, treasurer and municipal engineer, they will be briefed on the executive and legislative actions to be taken by the town to implement the livelihood and other projects.
Some of the projects will be implemented by February 2020.
(Photos were taken in Taraka, Lanao del Sur and Iligan City during the 2-day Livelihood Orientation Program for Lanao del Sur conducted by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA). Photos by the MinDA Media Group.)
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