DAR Sultan Kudarat launches Upper Valley ARCs cluster
AGRICULTURE • 16:45 PM Tue Jul 16, 2019
1
By:
Kathleen S. Pagayon, Aileen M. Talon, Kusain B. Empao/DAR-SK)
DAR officials and local leaders of Bagumbayan, Senator Ninoy Aquino and Palimbang during the unveiling of ARC cluster billboard in Barangay Biwang, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat. (Photo by DAR-SK)
ISULAN, Sultan Kudarat - The Department of Agrarian Reform Sultan Kudarat (DAR-Sultan Kudarat) recently launched its newest Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) Cluster combining the municipalities and ARCs of Bagumbayan, Senator Ninoy Aquino and Palimbang, designed to improve the productivity of the land and the farmers through capacity building, information, learning exchanges and convergence or complementation of development projects and initiatives.
Christy Dagdag, chief finance DAR central office, said that this will be a big feat for DAR and its partner agencies but with cooperation and teamwork, the newly launched ARC Cluster will usher in new possibilities for the beneficiaries and the communities.
Pabil A. Marohomsalic, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer I, said that the priority projects under the Upper Valley ARC Cluster will include the establishment of an ARC Hub and Business Center to be located at Barangay Gapok, Senator Ninoy Aquino, including the opening and construction of several Farm-To-Market Roads, bridges, and post-harvest facilities.
“It will also provide basic social services to the community clusters that will be of great help in elevating their livelihood and general well-being,” Marohomsalic said.
An ARC is a barangay or cluster of contiguous barangays within a municipality where majority of the CARP-covered lands have been awarded to a critical mass of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs).
The Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) Development Strategy was adopted in 1993 to focus on priority agrarian reform areas to maximize resource allocation, complementation, and mobilization for greater efficiency and impact, taking into consideration the limited financial and material resources of the government.
It applies the integrated area development approach where the ARBs and their communities are the primary focal points of development interventions.
The Upper Valley ARC Cluster is in cooperation with the local government units of the three municipalities and various national line agencies, government institutions and universities. (DAR-SK)