By Lovella P. Guarin
One of the strategies of the Department of Agriculture to ensure food security amidst the Ukraine-Russia crisis is the Farm Clustering and Consolidation (F2C2).
One of the farmers’ associations clustered under the High Value Crops Development Program is the Awayan Farmers Association composed of over 70 members, 30 of whom are engaged in vegetable production covering 15 hectares in barangay Awayan in Sipocot, Camarines Sur.
Awayan Farmers Association is one of the 17 associations that composed the CLLS Federation of Vegetable Growers Inc. CLLS stands for Cabusao, Lupi, Libmanan, Sipocot, neighboring municipalities in Camarines Sur province.
The members grow pinakbet vegetables like eggplant, okra, squash, string beans, and hot pepper, as well as melon and sweet corn.
Danilo Aureus, the Awayan FA President, said that they market their produce at the Kadiwa Center at DA compound and in Manila such as Divisoria and Balintawak markets with the help of the trucks from the DA Bicol.
“Halos kompleto na po ang naibigay ng High Value Crops Development Program sa aming grupo simula nang naging bahagi kami ng CLLS cluster. Nabigyan kami ng farm machineries tulad ng shallow tube well, PISOS at multi-cultivator, wheel barrow, hose at sprinkler. Meron din pong mga assorted vegetable seeds, UV plastic for mulching at seedling trays,” added Aureus.
“Sa LGU ng Sipocot naman po particularly sa Municipal Agriculture Office, nabigyan kami ng fertilizer at training. Patuloy din po ang regular na monitoring nila sa aming mga taniman.”
Economic Impact of F2C2
“Dati, noong traditional pa ang aming pagsasaka at kulang pa kami sa gamit at makinarya, maliit lang ang kinikita namin.
Ngayon, dahil sa F2C2, nabigyan kami ng mga training at farm inputs, domoble and income namin. Sa aking isang ektaryang gulayan,nakapag-harvest na ako ng mahigit 15 tons sa isang taon, ” Aureus said.
He is happy that through farming, he was able to send his children to college.
“Ang magsasaka ay hindi dapat mag-isip na siya ay abang magsasaka lamang. Kailangan maging negosyante tayo para umangat ang ating pamumuhay,” he advises his fellow farmers.
LGU of Sipcot
Sipocot is one of the towns of Bicol which strongly supports the programs of the Department of Agriculture and its bureaus and attached agencies.
Engr. Caesar Franco Leonardo, Municipal Agriculturist, said that for FY 2022, the Municipal Agriculture Office of Sipocot has received and implemented a total of P143.5 Million peso projects.
“Napakalaking tulong po ang mga naibigay na pondo at programa ng DA Regional Office dito sa Sipocot at nagpapasalamat po kami kay Regional Executive Director Rodel P. Tornilla at sa mga bumubuo po sa DA Regional Office sa Bicol. Dahil kung wala po ang suporta ng DA, ay konti lang po ang maipapamahagi namin sa mga magsasaka. Nagpapasalamat po kami kasama na ang aming mga rice farmers sa tinaggap na hybrid and certified palay seeds, fertilizer voucher, foliar fertilizer and financial assistance.
Ang isa pang malaking tulong talaga sa amin ay itong High Value Crops Development Program kaya nagpapasalamat po kami kay Dr. Mary Grace Rodriguez, Chief ng Field Operations Division at focal person ng High Value Crops Development Program. Kasama po sa nabigyan ng higit P1.6M na interventions gaya ng vegetable seeds packets, organic fertilizer at various farm implements ang apat (4) na Big Brothers (farmers associations) ng Sipocot na kabilang sa CLLS, namely: Awayan Farmers Association; Bulawan FA, Bagong Sirang FA, at Tara FA,” said MA Leonardo.
MID-Year 2022 Funding Support from Various DA & attached agencies
| PROGRAM | AMOUNT |
| RICE PROGRAM (hybrid and certified palay seeds fertilizer voucher, foliar fertilizer and financial assistance | P4,589,953 |
| CORN PROGRAM (Hybrid Corn Seeds) | P159,000 |
| HIGH VALUE CROPS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (Various vegetable seed packets, organic fertilizer, various farm implements) | 1,663,157 |
| LIVESTOCK PROGRAM (piglets, feeds & anti-rabies vaccine | P109,000 |
| BFAR SURE AID Program | P825,000 |
| PCA Fertilizer and planting materials | P1,428,151.50 |
| ATI Meat Processing Training with GAD Concepts | P180,000 |
| RCEF Farm machineries | P1,700,000 |
| PCIC (Insurance coverage for Sipocot thru the Municipal Agriculture Office was allocated with P281 Million, the biggest in Bicol). | 132,709,000 |
| Claims for indemnity of insured crops, livestock and fishery | 2,235,950 |
| T O T A L | 143,573,491 |