27/08/2019
YRRP Assistance to Calubian, Leyte
- Rolando B. Hipe, Michael F. Dabuet, Elizabeth Gunda Hugo, and Angelique Jane Saňano
Calubian Municipal Agriculturist Agustin L. Dignos related that there were two phases of the Yolanda Recovery and Rehabilitation Program (YRRP) assistance. In 2016, PhP18 Million was coursed through the provincial government, and in 2017, PhP11 Million was released directly to the Calubian LGU. Funds were used in the procurement of farm, machineries/equipment, trainings, and the establishment of fourteen (14) barangay–level vegetable techno–demo farms.
The Farmers’ Training Center–cum–Municipal Agriculture Office, plus the extension area, is among the structures built by the national government through the 2017 YRRP at a cost of PhP1.5 Million. A warehouse, constructed near the sub–provincial jail, is another YRRP donation. Additionally, funds for the renovation of the municipal hall were sourced from calamity funds in aid of Typhoon Yolanda–struck localities.
Romeo Lazareno, 46, resident of Brgy. Tagharigue, is a goat farmer who was able to benefit from the YRRP assistance. He attended a Farmers Livestock School on Goat Enterprise Management (FLS–GEM) conducted by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) based at the Visayas State University (VSU) in Baybay City. Romeo was among the training participants who were given two head female goat, or doe, and one buck of Anglo–Nubian breed to augment their own stocks. The farmer–beneficiary plans to crossbreed the buck with his existing native doe.
The MVCCrOP FFA, or Mahait–Veloso–Cantonghao–Cristina–Obispo and Pates Farmers and Fishermen Association, was one of 14 farmers’ association identified by the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist (OMA) to undertake the establishment of a barangay–level vegetable techno–demo farm. It has 72 active members, all of whom take turns in helping out in the farm. YRRP interventions for the association came in the form of seeds and fertilizers, and small tools/implements.
Essentially, the YRRP assistance has enabled the local constituents, especially the farmers, to “build back better” their damaged properties, displaced livelihood, and lost opportunities.