About 500 agrarian reform beneficiaries in Cebu’s southwestern town of Pinamungajan will benefit from a joint project of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the provincial government of Cebu.

The Enhanced Countryside Development (ECD) project aims to ensure food security amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic and targets farmers in the barangays, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said on Monday.

DAR Secretary John Castriciones and Garcia signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the project on Monday at the sidelines of the distribution of certificates of a land ownership award (CLOAs) in Barangay Lamac of the said town.

Under the MOA, Garcia said the provincial government will serve as the “link” between the agrarian beneficiaries and government funding providers to give farmers access to loans and ensure that they will not sell their farm lots.

She noted many instances in the past when agrarian farmers sold their lots because they did not have access to funds for their seeds and farm technologies.

“After awarding the farmer with the CLOA, he could not make a living out of a piece of paper, he needs fund for the seeds and equipment to till the land,” Garcia said in Cebuano. “What do they need to achieve the true spirit of agrarian reform, if it’s fund to finance his agricultural activities, then let’s give it.”

She said that under the MOA, the province will serve as a conduit for the farmers in seeking agricultural loans from the Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, and the Philippine Veterans Bank.

Apart from being enrolled in the ECD program, the beneficiaries will also get help for the marketing of their farm produce.

Castriciones, on the other hand, urged farmers to expose their children to farming, stressing the national government’s thrust of giving a three-hectare lot to those who would finish a four-year agricultural course but do not have land to till.

“Ang agrikultura ay siyang pag-asa ng ating bayan (Agriculture is the hope of our country),” he said.

The DAR chief thanked the province of Cebu for imparting its countryside initiative that directly helps the agricultural workers, especially those who are beneficiaries of the land reform program. (PNA)