Beema bamboo propagules are being planted in the rural village of Camandingan in this city with the hope of piloting a national program that will enhance livelihood opportunities, increase climate resiliency, and foster ecological conservation across target communities.

Initiated by the provincial government of Ilocos Norte with the support of various national government agencies and civil society organizations, a memorandum of agreement for Sustainable Agroforestry Farm Enterprise-Bamboo Business Model (SAFE-BBM) was formally signed on Monday.

Signatories in the MOA were Ilocos Norte Governor Cecilia Araneta-Marcos, Batac City Mayor Mark Christian Chua, Regional Executive Director John Pascual of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Office 1, and Regional Executive Director Rosario Segundina Gaerlan of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

With registered farmers’ associations and women organizations as partner beneficiaries, the SAFE-BBM project aims to develop a 10-hectare beema bamboo plantation project with an initial batch of 10,000 propagules.

During the launching of the project on Monday, DA Undersecretary for High Value Crops Cheryl Marie Caballero said the project involves a multi-story farming system with diversified income sources where the beema bamboo serves as an insurance crop.

In her speech, Caballero shared the government’s plan to create a national strategy for bamboo and develop a sustainable agroforestry enterprise to support the industry, with Batac as a business model.

“This is a technology-based intervention to provide reliable planting materials and seedlings to uplift the lives of the people,” Caballero said, underscoring the importance of helping farmers cope with climate change and allow them to plant all-year round.

Dr. Nambi Barathi of Growmore Biotech Ltd. said beema bamboo has versatile uses, including mass timber for housing and sustainable fuel production.

Chua, for his part, expressed Batac’s “full commitment” to the move to make the city “a model of sustainability to our farmers, the environment, and the future of Ilocos Norte.”

To complement the project, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) distributed aquaculture inputs and freshwater prawn, which will be grown in rivers, lakes, and other tributaries in llocos and other parts of Northern Luzon.

Also on Monday, a “Gulayan sa Bayan” (vegetable garden) project was also awarded to the Gabut Norte Rural Improvement Club to boost their productivity while helping raise a healthy community through vegetable production.

The DA provided each beneficiary with knapsack sprayer, organic foliar fertilizer, net garden shade, set of garden tools, and assorted vegetable seeds amounting to PHP100,000.

“This project gives us more than seeds. It gives up purpose, pride, and the chance to feed our families, and neighbors with vegetables grown from our own backyard,” Catherine Sadorra, president of Gabut Norte Rural Improvement Club, said. (PNA)