A group of women farmers in Magpet, North Cotabato, is expected to boost productivity after they received PHP1.4 million worth of farm machinery from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) provincial office.

The recipients are members of the Malatab Women’s Agrarian Reform Cooperative (MWARC) in Antipas, North Cotabato. They received the new equipment on July 16 under the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support Program.

“It was a significant step towards empowering agrarian reform beneficiaries,” said Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Mharlie Pasal in a statement Friday.

The equipment package includes a rice mill, rice thresher, two mud boat-type floating tillers, and a power tiller with transmission.

DAR regional officials, led by Pasal, and local government officials were present during the turnover ceremony at Barangay Malatab’s covered court.

Pasal encouraged MWARC to convert the support into income-generating assets. A memorandum of agreement and a trust agreement were also signed during the event.

MWARC Chairperson Elsa Cariaz expressed her group’s immense happiness, noting the DAR intervention aims to increase the productivity and income of ARB members.

“We would maximize this support from DAR for the benefit of both members and the wider community,” she said in a radio interview Friday. (PNA)