“Huwag tayong mag-atubili na lumapit sa gobyerno, ang success ng proyekto ay hindi dahil sa DA-BAR kundi nakasalalay sa inyo [mga magsasaka]. Dahil kahit anong gawin ng gobyerno, kung wala namang pagtutulungan, ay hindi rin natin makakamit ang outcome na inaasam natin,” DA-BAR OIC-director Sailila E. Abdula said during the launching of the Yamang Lupa: Sustainable Community-Based Action R4DE for Livelihood Enhancement, Upliftment, and Prosperity (YL: SCALE UP) Program in Dingras, Ilocos Norte on 31 August 2022. 

Director Abdula emphasized the importance of strengthening partnership and collaboration between and among researchers, government and non-government institutions, and farmers and fisherfolk. 

“This is to ensure that the technologies generated through research for development are relevant, necessary, and on time, for the optimum benefit of the agri-fisheries sector,” he added. 

The YL: SCALE UP Program, an upscaling of the department’s then Yamang Lupa Program in 2014, aims to provide an innovative model for the agriculture sector that will improve the livelihood of farmers and rural families while conserving the country’s natural resources; ultimately attaining food security. Moreover, the program is geared towards covering thousands of hectares of rainfed areas and utilizing balanced fertilization and micronutrients in farming. 

“Sa pamamagitan ng programang ito, pwede nating ipakita ang mga makabagong technologies na pwedeng i-adapt para patuloy na umangat ang inyong ani at [patuloy na bumaba] ang expenses sa ani at ang [ibang] crops,” he told farmers. 

Prior to the event, the program was also launched in Silungang Bayan, Tayabas City, Quezon on 23 August 2022. 

On behalf of director Abdula, DA-BAR Impact Evaluation and Policy Section head Kris Thea Marie B. Hernandez emphasized the bureau’s goal to help farmers generate income and increase productivity through R4DE technologies which includes the use of soil health cards to determine suitable crops for a specific area. 

In their respective messages, mayors Ernida A. Reynoso and Joefrey P. Saguid of Tayabas City, Quezon and Dingras, Ilocos Norte, respectively, stressed the importance of farming in providing food for the family and acknowledged the significant contribution of R4D projects such as the YL SCALE UP in improving the livelihood of small farmers.

To signify cooperation and dedication to the program, key officials and representatives from local government units, state universities and colleges, collaborating agencies, lead farmer technicians, and farmer facilitators signed on the “wall of commitment” during the project launching in Tayabas, Quezon and Dingras, Ilocos Norte. (### Angelo N. Padura)