“Before, Moro farmers in North Cotabato, particularly in the Special Geographic Area (SGA), had to borrow hand tractors and other farm equipment from their Christian neighbors. Now, they don’t have to.”

— Interior Minister Naguib G. Sinarimbo

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By EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech and Digital News

COTABATO CITY, April 24, 2023 – This is how we do it. If you can do it, we can do it better!

Perhaps, this is the message behind the latest distribution of 332 agriculture machinery and fishing equipment worth Php84 million to 13 communities of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) today, Monday.

In a demonstration of what have been coming and in store for communities of the Bangsamoro region, Chief Minister Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim joined the turnover ceremony to the Midsayap Cluster of the Special Geographic Area (SGA). Geographically in North Cotabato province, the SGA, comprised of 63 villages, is now under the Bangsamoro government’s jurisdiction and has been happy recipient of the fruits of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

With the presence of Ebrahim, chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) under Minister Naguib G. Sinarimbo president over the turnover and was responsible for the procurement of the several agri-machinery and fishing equipment to the BARMM’s SGA’s Midsayap Cluster Development Alliance (MCDA).

That’s not what the MILG has been implementing for the Bangsamoro region. Since its inception the Bangsamoro government at least through the MILG has already constructed many Municipal Halls, Philippine National Police (PNP) Stations, Public Terminals, Public Markets, Tourism Centers, Community Activity Centers, Seawater Desalination Facilities, Water Systems for the region. Some are still under construction while still others are in the planning stage.

Beneficiaries of the modern machinery and equipment are 13 barangays or villages of the SGA MCDA procured at a cost of Php84.24 million. A breakdown of the procurement shows that Php45.84 million went to agriculture machinery and their implements and Php38.40 million for 300 units of motorized bancas with fish nets. They formed part of the Livelihood Project of the Bangsamoro Integrated Rehabilitation and Development (BIRD) Program, which is a special program of the MILG funded from the Bangsamoro government’s Special Development Fund (SDF).

Interior Minister Sinarimbo video by SDN — SciTech and Digital News: Facebook

Ceremonially turned over by Ebrahim and MILG, one of the 15 primary ministries of BARMM, were agricultural equipment, machinery, and motorized fishing boats, which will be managed by the SGA-MCDA, consisting of 5 units of tractor with implements for rice production, 5 units of mechanical rice transplanters, 5 units of rice harvester, 5 units of tractor with implements for corn production, 5 units of corn harvester with corn kit, 8 units of trailer for combine harvesters, and 300 units of motorized fishing boats with nets.

Sinarimbo earlier told SDN — SciTech and Digital News about the dire need of the SGA farmers and fisherfolk of their own modern farming and fishing machinery and equipment.

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“Before, Moro farmers in North Cotabato, particularly in the 63 villages of the Special Geographic Area (SGA), had to borrow hand tractors and other farm equipment from their Christian neighbors. Now, they don’t have to,” he says.

Also the BARMM spokesperson, Sinarimbo said the BIRD Program managed by the MILG is focused on providing interventions to the SGA of the BARMM through three pillars of implementation: governance, community infrastructure, and livelihood.

“On Governance component, may extensive trainings for local officials ng 63 barangays from the barangay captains, kagawads, BPATs, lahat ng institutions of governance at the level of barangay meron ‘hong intensive na training. Ang isang nabuo ay formation ng alliance ng barangay captains, organized na ho yan. Ang konsepto ay magkaroon sila ng alliance para ang common services ay pwedeng i-fund commonly, tulad ng pagbibigay ng mga farm machineries na ito,” Sinarimbo explains in his message at the event.

(Translation: On governance component, there are extensive trainings for local officials of the 63 barangays of SGA from the barangay captains, council members, BPATs, all the institutions of governance and level of barangay there is intensive training. They already formed an alliance of barangay captains. The idea behind is for them to have an alliance for common services that can be commonly funded, like the distribution of these farm machineries.)

“Pangalawa ay community infrastructure component na base sa identification ng barangay ay importante sa kanila, dito pumapasok yung mga water system na in-identify nila, mga activity center, learning center, ito ang in-identify nila, pag in-identify nila yun, pinoprogram po namin… Pangatlong component ay livelihood component,” he adds.

(Translation: Second is a community infrastructure component based on the barangays’ identification what is more important to them. Here, they identified water system, activity center, learning center. They are the ones who identified our programs for them. Third is livelihood component.)

Sinarimbo also stated that the barangays have agreed to provide funds from their own resources or a portion of national taxes to manage, operate, and maintain the pool of the turned-over agriculture machinery and equipment.

The MILG chief said the Bangsamoro government expects the provision of the highly mechanized farming equipment and motorized boats to increase rice and corn crop production in SGA communities, thereby facilitating an increase in income among farmers and fisherfolk..

Other BARMM officials attended and witnessed the ceremonial turnover, among were newly appointed Senior Minister Abunawas “Von Al Haq” L. Maslamama, Bangsamoro Planning, and Development Authority (BPDA) Director Melanie Indar of the SDF-PMO, and the Midsayap Clusters I & II, SGA, BARMM head of barangays.

During the BIRD Program’s inauguration on August 16, 2021, the Ministry also delivered similar agricultural machinery and equipment to the farmers of the Pigcawayan Cluster, also of the SGA.

The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the CAB, is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, and the SGA.

According to the Philippine Atlas has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. (✓)

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Source:  MILG