The Department of Agriculture (DA) is pouring in support to an organized indigenous peoples community in Bukidnon. Lumad farmers intend to grow adlay to ensure sustained household food security, and at the same time bring their harvest to markets.
Funded under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or “Bayanihan 2” being coordinated by DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), assistance in the form of inputs, technical trainings, machineries, which include development and marketing of adlay-based products are expected to reach the farmers’ organization - Kaliwawa Salwagan Talaandig Tribal Agricultural Cooperative (KASATATRIACO) in the highlands of Barangay Lerongan.
Lorena V. Duna, program leader of the Adlay Enterprise Development program in the region, said that the KASATATRIACO is among the five farmers’ group identified for the enterprise support mechanism of the program.
Further to this, a team from the DA-Regional Field Office 10 organized a community orientation on adlay enterprise and training on adlay production on 9 February 2021 attended by around 30 Lumads.
The enterprise support program shall assist KASATATRIACO’s 52 adlay farming families.
Around 75 hectares of adlay are currently planted in the area not only for food production, but also for soil cover against soil erosion. These are among the contribution of indigenous peoples not only in biodiversity preservation but also in sustaining life and food availability in the highlands.
The government’s research for development program on Adlay Enterprise Development in Marginal Areas in Northern Mindanao hopes to accomplish three-fold developments on the social, economic and environmental aspects of food production in these areas.
Through the adlay research for development (R4D) program in the region, DA-BAR has supported the adoption and promotion of adlay package of technologies and postharvest equipments; development of various food products and by-products; and further strengthening of market linkages in some areas of Bukidnon and Metro Manila. To date, a total of 175 hectares were established for commercial production of adlay in the provinces of Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, and Misamis Oriental.
IP communities assisted by the adlay R4D program include: Lumad farmers in Bukidnon in Region 10; Subanen Tribe in Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay in Region 9, and the Solidarity Farmers Association in Little Baguio in Malita, Davao Occidental.