LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – At least 300 agri-stakeholders composed primarily of farmer-leaders from the 13 municipalities of Benguet gathered on June 5 at the Benguet Sports Complex, Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet for the 7th Benguet Farmers Congress.
Themed “Empowering Farmers Organizations towards Sustainable Partnerships”, the Congress served as the venue to inform of the different agricultural programs and projects in the province and as well as equip the farmer-leaders on how to accomplish the necessary documents required therein.
Regional Executive Director Atty. Jennilyn M. Dawayan of the Cordillera office of the Department of Agriculture (DA-CAR), who served as the guest speaker, lauded the provincial government for spearheading the congress gathering farmer-leaders and other agri-stakeholders throughout the province. She highlighted the top five thrusts of the DA based on their meetings and workshops.
These include strong support for storage facilities and cold chains; improvement of logistics for marketing; digitalization towards efficiency in the planning process; encouragement of local seed production to lower importation, and increased private sector partnership.
Under digitalization, Dawayan underlined the different initiatives being undertaken involving the farmers. These are the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) registration for individual farmers as a basic requirement to avail of interventions; civil society organization accreditation for groups to become eligible beneficiaries or implementors of agri-fishery projects; Farmers and Fisherfolk Information System registration for agri- enterprises to avail of marketing options as stated in the Sagip-Saka Act; the Nationwide Machinery Inventory which aims to map out all operational agri-machinery and equipment in the communities, and the GeoAgri portal for the encoding of farm-to-market road proposals by the local governments.
“The digitalization efforts are aimed at improving the efficiency of our planning and budgeting process,” Dawayan emphasized.
These databases, accordingly, are valuable, especially in providing real-time data and information to aid in the planning and informed decisions of the agency. It is also used to generate possible beneficiaries for upcoming projects, subsidies, and/or cash assistance such as the rice farmers’ financial assistance, among others. Hence, she encouraged the participants to support and ensure their registration to all databases applicable to them.
As of June 3, 2024, a total of 82,553 Benguet farmers, farm workers, and agri-youth are already registered in the RSBSA, Roselyn Ranille of the DA-CAR APCO Benguet reported.
The participants also delved into other topics encompassing updates on clustering and consolidation, and discussion on development plans of farmers and cooperative associations and minimum requirements for agri-machinery, equipment, and facilities requests.
The one-day event was conducted by the Provincial Agriculture Office in partnership with the Katipunan ng Makakalikasang Magsasaka ng Benguet, Inc. Also in attendance were Benguet Governor Melchor Diclas, Board Member and Chairperson on the Committee on Agriculture Hon. Ruben Paoad along with other board members who continuously support the agricultural development in the province. By Janice B. Agrifino
