BAGUIO CITY – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is undertaking its 5th supervision and implementation mission for the Second Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resources Management Project (CHARMP2).
The mission, which started last February 2016 will wrap-up and present its findings in a meeting with the project’s major stakeholders in the coming weeks at the DA Central Office, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City.
The 5th IFAD-SIS mission seeks to assess the progress of the Project against targets and agreements and ensure that these are met with the provision of implementation support, according to Mr. Tawfiq El Zabre, mission team leader.
He added that joint IFAD-NEDA meetings will be undertaken following the conduct of the IFAD-SIS mission to monitor project progress.
Meanwhile, Dr. Cameron P. Odsey, Project Manager said that the CHARMP2 continues its seventh and last year of implementing development projects this 2015 to help various indigent communities in CAR.
With the aim of improving the highland indigenous groups’ quality of life, CHARMP2 has taken steps to improve farm family income through assisting agricultural developments and promoting alternative livelihood businesses. The Project has also ensured more comfortable living conditions through land and food security, beneficial rural infrastructure projects and environmental conservation.
To provide sustainability among the 170 target areas, trainings for Barangay Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation Teams (BPMETs) are continuously being held. Participation is also encouraged among People’s Organizations as well as Livelihood Interest Groups (LIGs).
The project has already completed six Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plans (ADSDPPs) and pipelined three Certificate for Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs) for approval by the NCIP Commissioners enbanc. As of the present there are ongoing facilitations for 14 ADSDPPs across CAR.
Watersheds are being protected through continuous conservation and rehabilitation. With the reforestation efforts, there have been more than 8,400 hectares of planted areas; in addition, Agroforestry project is exceeding its targets with approximately 2,050 hectares of planted areas within the region.
More than 46,000,000 pesos in assistance has been released to help small rural enterprises or Livelihood Interest Groups (LIGs) through the Livelihood Assistance Fund (LAF) along with the added value to agricultural products due to technology demonstrations and farmer business school lessons for LIGs.
Agricultural livelihood is continuously being assisted through the construction of more than 380 kilometres of farm – to – market roads as well as more than 54,000 linear meters of foot paths and 747 linear meters of footbridges. The quality of farming has improved through building of Communal Irrigation System irrigating more than 1,000 hectares. Several units of Domestic Water Systems and Community Infrastructures were provided for more comfortable and convenient living conditions in several communities. By Dexter A. See
