The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Department of Education (DepEd) here have partnered to sustain a school-based feeding program while patronizing products produced by agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

Chief agrarian reform program officer Rommel Aquino said Tuesday that the Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty project offers two-fold benefits by linking consumers and producers, while learners are provided with nutritious food and farmers with a steady market for their produce.

“Under the agreement, DAR will facilitate the linking of ARBs that will supply food items required for the supplementary feeding program with DepEd authorities,” Aquino told the Philippine News Agency.

DAR and DepEd-Laoag officials signed a memorandum of understanding at the Schools Division Office mini conference hall on Monday to formalize the partnership.

The Philippine Carabao Center has also expressed support for the program by providing high-quality milk to learners sourced from local dairy farmers in the province.

“These partnerships bring life to our shared commitment to both child nutrition and rural development. By directly involving our local farmers and dairy producers, we ensure that the School-Based Feeding Program is not only effective but also empowering,” Joann Corpuz, schools division superintendent of Laoag City, said in a statement.

As part of efforts to empower farmers associations and cooperatives, the DAR, along with other government agencies, has been helping out in the development, packaging, and linking of local products to children’s supplemental feeding programs to help address malnutrition. (PNA)