The Department of Agriculture MIMAROPA provided more than Php 97,000 worth of agricultural inputs to Kalayaan following an assessment that identified the community’s limited and irregular food supply as a key concern.
The turnover was held November 27 at the Kalayaan Resource Center in Barangay Berong, Quezon, Palawan.
The interventions, funded through DA MIMAROPA’s Special Area for Agricultural Development Program, aimed to strengthen household-level food production. These included 200 native chickens with chick booster, native pigs, goats, assorted planting materials, and 10 bags of vermicast.
Palawan Agricultural Program Coordinating Officer Vicente Binasahan Jr., representing Regional Executive Director Atty. Christopher R. Bañas, led the distribution with DPDC OIC Neil Vargas. He said the items were prioritized based on directives from RED Bañas.
Binasahan urged beneficiaries to treat the assistance as an investment for community development.
“Pagtulong-tulungan nating mapalago itong mga naibigay ng Department of Agriculture, dahil ito ay para sa inyo din. Upang mas umunlad ang bayan ng Kalayaan, dapat din nating pangalagaan at mahalin itong mga inihandog sa inyo,” he said.
Mayor Beltsazar S. Alindogan said the support will help improve food availability for residents on Pag-asa Island.
“Maraming salamat po sa DA-MIMAROPA. Napakaswerte ng Kalayaan dahil binigyan tayo ng pagkakataong mabigyan ng libreng manok, seedlings, native na baboy, at kambing, maging ang vermicompost na gagamitin para sa pagtatanim. Huwag nating sayangin itong magandang oportunidad, bagkos [ay] pangalagaan natin ito at palaguin,” he said.
To guide the community in managing the livestock and poultry, DA-MIMAROPA experts Arturo Mones and Alvin Villanueva conducted an orientation on animal husbandry and production practices.
