THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Negros Occidental turned over the Village Level Processing Center Enhancement Project to its assisted-agrarian reform beneficiary organization in Barangay Caliling, Cauayan town on Tuesday.
Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Lucrecia Taberna said the project, in partnership with the Bajay Patol Reform Agrarian Reform Cooperative (BPARC), is under the agency’s village-level farm-focused enterprise development program.
Taberna said the DAR allocated P300,000 for the construction of the processing center and conduct of capacity-building and other trainings.
The BPARC, meanwhile, has a counterpart-fund of P80,000 to be used as additional budget for the construction and labor expenses.
Taberna said the project will help the cooperative in producing and marketing their products and benefit its 191 members.
“The project is implemented through the agency’s continuing thrusts like strengthening the agri-enterprises of the ARB organization and its members,” she said, adding that it will enable them to sustain the productivity of their awarded lands.
Establishing farm-focused community enterprises promotes value-adding activities to the major and secondary crops of the farmers.
This allows the participation of other community members in the livelihood activities within the value chain and increase their household income, the DAR official said.
