In a recently held kick-off meeting between the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the newest foreign-assisted project, “Value Chain Innovation for Sustainable Transformation in Agrarian Reform Communities” (VISTA) Project, was discussed to boost the economic lives of the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in SOCCSKSARGEN region.
The VISTA Project aims to improve the livelihood and enhance the community resilience of vulnerable rural populations through a Value Chain Development (VCD) approach anchored to natural ecosystem adaptation.
The IFAD mission team is composed of experts from around the globe who specializes in rural finance, value chain innovation, environment and natural resources, institution, governance, land tenure, gender, and targeting and social inclusion, to name a few.
IFAD team leader, Dorothy Lucks, expressed excitement over the possibilities that this region can offer since the project will innovate coffee, cacao, and coconut production and marketing, for the benefit of ARBs in agrarian reform communities (ARCs).
“The VISTA Project aims to increase employment, improve food security and nutrition, and reduce poverty while maintaining the cultural integrity of the recipient communities, as well as preserve the natural ecosystem in the area,” said Lucks.
Relevant activities will be undertaken by the combined IFAD and DAR teams to conduct focused group discussions on the project, together with the recipient ARB organizations, partner LGUs/PLGUs, agencies, microfinance institutions, private sectors, and other necessary stakeholders involved in the value chain of coffee, cacao, and coconut.
DAR Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Office Assistant Secretary Rene Colocar said this activity is in line with the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., through the leadership of DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III, to improve the livelihood of the ARBs nationwide.
“In line with the Philippine development plan for 2023-2028, the DAR and IFAD will once again prove our strong partnership in order to provide adequate and sustainable support services to our ARBs,” he said.
Over the course of the week, the teams will visit ARC sites in the region including Brgy. Linan in Tupi, South Cotabato, the municipality of President Quirino in Sultan Kudarat, Maasim in Sarangani province, and Antipas in Cotabato province, gathering comprehensive data from the farmers and stakeholders on how best to design the project, molded to the needs of the farmers in the target areas.
