Tabuk, Kalinga – Adolfo Bravo, 51, of Tabuk City was inaugurated as the Cordillera’s first Small Water Irrigation Systems Association (SWISA) president on April 10 at Baguio City during the Regional SWISA Convention exhorting his members to aggressively push for wider coordination and cooperation to support the vision of the Department of Agriculture for food sufficiency and sustainable agriculture in the country
Bravo said that being the first president, he asked the members of SWISA for regular meetings in order to assess each other’s performance and see the gaps and challenges the association faces in order to seek for appropriate remedial measures in addition to attendance to training, seminars, and workshops to further build up their knowledge.
He added that the big number of participants in the said event from all the provinces is an indication of members’ interest in establishing the association in the region.
Aside from Bravo, other officers include Pedro Dulawan from Ifugao as the vice president; Anita Madarang (Benguet) as secretary; Janette Luya (MP)’ treasurer; RollyAlliang (Apayao), auditor, and, Mario Turqueza (Abra), PRO.
While Blesida Concepcion, SWISA Luzon cluster coordinator, reported that within the five years that SWISA has been operating, the region remained inactive during national meetings and training. Thus, she challenged the new president to have the will and passion to unite all the members in the provinces. “Ako ay positibo na muling babangon ang CAR,” she added.
On the other hand, the convention was able to strengthen linkages among officers and members of SWISA all throughout the region as it intends to provide an avenue for participants to discuss issues and concerns, share and acquire knowledge and skills that will further enhance their connections. Also, officers and members were updated on new projects and programs and of the department and the Philippine Crop Insurance Council.
By JMD
