Euro donor gives P1.1 B to Mindanao agri projects

COTABATO CITY — Efforts to rehabilitate war-torn areas in Mindanao got a much needed boost with a recent grant of P1.1 billion development package, earmarked for 49 agrarian reform communities (ARCs) in Central Mindanao by a European funding entity.

Faisar Mambuay, director of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Region 12, said the 49 ARCs, some located in former enclaves of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, are scattered in the provinces of North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte and Sultan Kudarat.

The costly project, according to Mambuay, will be jointly implemented by the DAR and other agencies.

Mambuay, citing security reasons, declined to identify in the meantime the European donor, which allocated the P1.1 billion grant.

He said the project is aimed at increasing productivity of local farmers.

The venture, according to Mambuay, will focus on the improvement of 170 farm-to-market roads in the three provinces; construction of dozens of bridges to connect farms in remote areas to trading centers and the irrigation of at least 940 hectares of rice and corn farms.

Mambuay said the project will also construct 60 buildings, including post harvest facilities in the selected ARCs.

Of the 49 ARCs to benefit from the project, 29 are in North Cotabato, 14 in Lanao del Norte and four in Sultan Kudarat.