The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said Tuesday that it had partnered with the municipal government of Bula, Camarines Sur, nine government agencies, academic institutions, and farmer cooperatives to form a rice agro-enterprise cluster aimed at increasing production, opening bigger markets, and raising farmers’ incomes.
"This partnership adds another layer of support to agrarian reform beneficiaries by connecting land tenure improvement with productivity, enterprise development, financing, and market opportunities,” Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Ricardo Garcia said.
For his part, LARFBCO Chairman Edgar Razado expressed optimism that the partnership would give farmers greater opportunities to strengthen their enterprises and increase returns from their harvests.
"Through this AECA, we can increase our production and income, and we will no longer have to go through middlemen,” he added. The signing of an MOU last Aug. 20 formalized the creation of a site working group (SWG) that would oversee the implementation of the Agro-Enterprise Clustering Approach (AECA) in Bula.
According to the DAR, this initiative seeks to organize smallholder rice farmers into a commodity cluster to improve productivity, expand market access, reduce transaction costs, and increase farm incomes.
Under the SWG, the participating institutions are expected to work toward a more coordinated support system that will enable Bula’s rice farmers to produce, organize, and market their products more competitively.
Meanwhile, institutions involved will develop work plans, mobilize resources, establish market linkages, and monitor the implementation of said program.
DAR - Camarines Sur I will serve as co-lead implementer with the regional field office providing agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) with capacity-building, land tenure improvement assistance, and other support services.
