The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in North Cotabato seeks to empower a group of cassava farmers in the province by providing them with an upgraded processing center to add value to their crops through quality cassava chips.

Evangeline Bueno, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer (PARPO II), said in a statement Tuesday that the beneficiaries are members of Barangay Katipunan Farmers Association (BKFA) of M’lang town.

Bueno said the initiative is in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III to boost the livelihood activities of the farmers in the countryside.

BFFA president Bernandina Lacao said the assistance, received by the group earlier this month, will help them be more productive and capture wider markets.

“We will always remember DAR because of their continued assistance provided to us,” she said.

The upgraded facility amounting to PHP250,000 was provided under the DAR’s Village Level Farm-focused Enterprise Development (VLFED) Project.

Bueno said the improved processing center aims to conform with existing standards and enable the farmers to become compliant with the Food and Drugs Administration and penetrate bigger markets.

“Our assistance will continue to intensify by providing technical assistance to the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and help them market their products to penetrate the institutional markets,” she assured.

DAR has collaborated with the Department of Trade and Industry and other government agencies in developing and enhancing the ARBs as potential enterprises.

In 2020, DAR-North Cotabato also provided the BKFA with cooking equipment such as a grinder, stockpots, a wok pan, a steamer, and additional cassava stalks as planting materials to intensify their production amidst the pandemic. (PNA)