Establishment of farm business school in Mambuaya seen

THE 19th City Council on its regular session Monday presided over by Vice Mayor Raineir Joaquin V. Uy enacted an ordinance authorizing the City Mayor to enter into and sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Agrarian Reform, Barangay Local Government Unit (BLGU) of Mambuaya and Paradise Village CARP Beneficiaries Farmers and Irrigators Association (PAVICABEFIA).

This covers the collaboration of the parties in the establishment of the Farm Business School (FBS) with the Integration of Buhay sa Gulay Approach in the barangay.

The project aims to improve the standard of living of the farmers in the Agrarian Reform Community. It likewise aims to encourage them to increase agricultural productivity and ensure food security, enable them to adopt organic agriculture and capacitate them in negotiating their products to the market.

The establishment of the FBS is also envisioned to mobilize agrarian reform beneficiaries to go into group marketing and contribute to the increase of the household income of farmers.

Under the MOA, the beneficiary shall attend the 25 learning sessions and participate in learning by working together, maximize the utilization of their farmlands by planting vegetables and raising livestock in accordance with the schedule set forth by the learning, among others.

Meanwhile, the city shall provide a venue for the conduct of the learning sessions, provide support to ensure success and sustainability of the project and designate members to the Local Partners Alliance Group from the Office of the City Agriculture and City Planning and Development Office.

For its part, the BLGU of Mambuaya shall provide farm inputs to the beneficiary under their Livelihood Program, designate a member of the Sangguniang Barangay particularly the Head of the Committee on Agriculture, City Agriculturist and City Planning and Development Office as members of Local Partners Alliance Group that will spearhead to sustain the gains of the project, among others.

Finally, the DAR Provincial Office shall conduct/facilitate 25 techno-transfer learning sessions, augment financial assistance for meals and supplies during the conduct of the learning sessions.

It shall likewise strengthen partnership with the city government and other support groups by creating Local Partners Alliance Groups working in the area that provide support to the farmers, encourage and capacitate farmers to practice and engage in crop diversification with the consideration of product market demands, among others.

The legislation was reviewed and endorsed by the committees on agriculture and on laws and rules chaired by Councilors Jay R. Pascual and Ian Mark Q. Nacaya, respectively.