SOME five and a half million pesos worth of income-generating projects and infrastructure have been turned over to Benguet farmers and cooperatives, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary John Castriciones revealed.
A P800,000 solar-powered irrigation system was turned over to flower farmers in Sitio Riverside, Barangay Alno in La Trinidad.
At the same time, some P4.75 million worth of income-generating projects were also turned over to agrarian reform beneficiaries operating in Benguet.
The projects include a P2 million capacity building and microfinance project for the Atok Arabica Coffee growers marketing cooperative under the agency’s initiative of linking small farmers to the market.
The Pasdong farmers’ multi-purpose cooperative also received a P580,000 worth bakery project under the DAR’s village-level farm focus enterprise development.
Both groups are operating in the town of Atok in Benguet.
The DAR also turned over P600,000 of alternative livelihood projects for agrarian reform beneficiaries from Atok, Tublay, and Tuba.
The agency also turned over some P780,000 livelihood assistance for two agrarian reform cooperatives in Bokod and Kabayan.