Bangon farmer-partners in Leyte increase resilience to drought

By JP CATORCE
August 24, 2015

JARO, Leyte – The sub-cluster of Bangon Mini Farms Alpha Sector Association Incorporated in the remote village of Rubas, in the mountains of Jaro, recently received 600 meters of polyethylene water pipes from Landbank Dir. Domingo Diaz, the Executive Chairman of Bangon.

LBP Dir. Diaz said Bangon’s livelihood systems include the embedding of resilience measures in the farms so its farmer-partners can combat the effects of weather, particularly drought during this El Niño period. The Bangon farmer-partners in the Rubas sub-cluster will no longer have to worry about water for their homes and crops, once the water pipe is connected to a nearby reservoir that is less than a kilometer away.

Diaz asserted, “Tama na! Bawal na ang gutom at kahirapan!” during the turnover program attended by Philippine Army officials, Colonel Dinoh Dolina of 802nd Infantry Brigade and Lt. Colonel Reymondo Delgado of the 19th Infantry Battalion, and Bangon Trustees Dr. Leo Blanco, Gert Blanco and Thelma Pondolanan.

The military has been LBPs partner in organizing and empowering Bangon Mini Farms since its kick-off in January 2014.

The water pipes cost about P52,000.00, which was funded by donations from private individuals. Apart from this, Bangon farmer-partners also benefited from other LBP-assisted programs such as livelihood trainings, seeds dispersal, mindset and values training, regular farm audits, integration into a supply chain and a support organization. Bangon has also established a 100 square meter greenhouse in Rubas to grow high-value crops, which can increase the association’s income by more than P20,000 monthly.

Aleshyla Diaz, a member of the Bangon’s Technical Working Group cited that Bangon has installed eight (8) greenhouses at dispersed locations in Leyte as part of its strategy so that one or several of these greenhouses can survive any calamity and thereby provide food to Bangon farmer-partners and clients. According to Diaz, one greenhouse facility is worth P285,000.00 and are now operating in Dulag, Tacloban, Jaro, Carigara, Capoocan, Kananga, Ormoc and Baybay.

Gert Cesar Blanco, Bangon Sector Head said the production of high value crops in Rubas should increase further due to its rich soil, healthy micro-climate and proximity to the main markets of Tacloban and Ormoc.