ARMM communities to benefit from agrarian projects

Agrarian reform communities (ARCs) in the five provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will be among the beneficiaries of the second phase of the P8.6-Billion Agrarian Reform Communities Project (ARCP 2).

ARCP 2 was launched Thursday in Davao City by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which funded the project, and officials from the ARMM and local head executives of target provinces.

The project aims to improve the lives of farmer-beneficiaries by increasing their agricultural yield, livestock production and introducing vital rural infrastructures.

ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan said that “farmers need all the help they can get not only to improve their lives but to help build a strong foundation for peace and development.”
ARCs are clusters of depressed barangays with farmer-beneficiaries awarded by DAR with agricultural lands. These communites are likewise recipients of other development initiatives from government agencies, local government units, non-government organizations and foreign donor communities.

ARCP 2 will target 152 ARCs in 18 of the poorest provinces in the country, which include the ARMM provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur.

DAR has also entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with DAR-ARMM for the implementation of the third phase of the Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project (ARISP III) in the province of Lanao del Sur.

ARISP III aims to boost agricultural development by increasing productivity and employment.
The autonomous regional government has affirmed its commitment and support to the implementation of both projects.

Ampatuan assured stakeholders that they will contribute to the success and sustainability of the projects.