UPLAND FARMERS BEAM AFTER RECEIVING CORN PRODUCTION SUPORT FROM THE MAFAR
“Fey-os tumabang (thank you for the help)”, said Dendeng Bandara, 45, one of the farmer recipients from the uplands of Datalpandan, Guindulungan, who received hybrid corn seeds and fertilizers delivered by the MAFAR, today (June 5, 2020).
Traversing the long and very rough road from the mountainous areas of the said village, Bandara is one of the 39 farmer-members (mostly Tiruray) of the Kalilintad People’s Organization who just received a total of 45 bags of hybrid yellow corn seeds with variety Filipina 753 and 90 bags of urea fertilizers from the MAFAR.
Akmad A. Abdullah, Corn Program Focal Person of MAFAR-BARMM, said the bags of high quality corn seeds shall be planted in 45-hectare wide farm areas in the village which will produce an estimated 270 metric tons of corn. He added that the farm inputs from the ministry was funded under the El Niño intervention from the Department of Agriculture.
Meanwhile, Anisa Ahmad, a resident of the town who served as one of the facilitators of the activity, said from the drop-off point in Barangay Tamar, the farmers will bring the bags of corn seeds and fertilizers to their very farms using their horses and by means of farm tractor.
MAFAR Minister Mohammad S. Yacob has been urging the farmers to continue being innovative and aggressive in terms of finding ways in advancing their production and increasing their income. This is same with his marching order and advocacy for the ministry to continue responding to the needs of the farmers with observance of proper protocols and procedures to ensure production as part of the strategies to attain food sufficiency.
The activity was conducted with the assistance of Fahmi U. Acob, Corn Program Assistant and Salembai A. Abdullah, Information, Communication, and Training Officer.