The Department of Agrarian Reform on Sunday announced that it has linked arms with its counterpart from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform in a bid to improve the standards of living of the farmers and fisher folks in the Bangsamoro region.
Just last week, Amihilda Sangcopan, DAR Undersecretary for Mindanao Affairs Office, led the conduct of the “Workshop on Strengthening Coordination between the DAR and the MAFAR” held at the University Hotel, University of the Philippines-Diliman, Quezon City.
Sangcopan revealed the full support of DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III to the partnership between the DAR and MAFAR expressing that: “the partnership is vital for spurring rural development and sustaining the gains of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.”
Estrella stressed the readiness of the DAR to extend assistance to MAFAR, considering that it is still in its infancy period when it comes to implementing various agrarian reform programs and to harnessing its agriculture-based industry.
“We, in the DAR, are excited to work closely with MAFAR to address the enormous challenges it is facing to attain stability and sustainability in the management of the land our fellow Bangsamoro farmers are tilling,” Estrella said.
DAR Undersecretaries Luis Meinrado Pangulayan of the Planning, Policy and Research Office, Jeffrey Galan of the Finance Management and Administration Office, and 18 representatives from MAFAR, led by MAFAR Bangsamoro Director-General for Agrarian Reform Services Taugan S. Kikay, attended the said workshop, which also intended to produce the draft Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies.
For his part, Kikay expressed his gratitude to the DAR “for its readiness to work with us in pursuit of the sustainable and fruitful development of the Bangsamoro farmers.”
The partnership gained ground during the conduct of the workshop, highlighted by the impending implementation of a “big-ticket” project: The Acceleration Support Program for ARC Development in Bangsamoro.