The Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation (RTNMC) has distributed farm inputs to local farmers of Sitio Bato-Bato, barangay Culandanum.
Around 50 households benefited from the pesticides, fertilizers, and vegetable seeds given on Saturday to an indigenous peoples (IP) community under the Social Development and Management Program (SDMP) for the livelihood of the community.
“Mahalaga rin ‘yon dahil ‘yong mga gulay na imbes binibenta nila ay ginagawa na rin nila na pang-ulam. Binibenta pa rin naman pero yong iba ay doon na kumuha ng kanilang ng ulam sa araw-araw,” community organizer Vannesa Apilan said.
Apilan added that aside from farmers, community members are also starting to plant vegetables within their backyards.
The project is on its phase II which focuses on the establishment of a vegetable farm with the amount of P7,249.33
Both phase I and phase II of the project has a budget allotment of P14,114.61 from the SDMP alignment of the community’s livelihood project.
“Phase II na ito ngayon, nakaraan nag-phase I kami, nag-start na kami ng gulayan kaso lang nagkaroon ng COVID, nabenta rin nila yong iba, yong iba naman ay ginamit na rin na pang-ulam,” she said.