To better integrate Department of Agriculture (DA) intervention programs and to transform the Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) in Caraga region into agricultural hubs, DA-Caraga meets the Philippine Army on January 16,2025 in Butuan City.
DA-Caraga Regional Executive Director and Poverty Reduction, Livelihood, and Employment Cluster (PRLEC) Chairperson Arlan M. Mangelen led the discussion and harmonization of feasible interventions to be implemented in partnership with the ten infantry battalions of the Philippine Army.
Director Mangelen shared that the PRLEC will adapt strategies to ensure better services for the communities. “Along with the other line agencies, we are committed to working with the LGUs to restore the communities with sufficient food on the table of every household and a dependable income stream that will eventually build peace,” Mangelen said.
In the region there are 523 barangays included in the list of GIDA. Of these, 94 barangays were attributed to having benefited from DA interventions through the Civil Society Organizations and Farmer Cooperatives and Associations in Fiscal Year 2024, totaling ₱503 million in various agricultural projects and interventions.
Furthermore, through the Philippine Army, the DA-Caraga identified possible People’s Organizations to be formed as Peace Farms for 2025, where organic farming methods and farm diversification will be implemented to address sustainability.
PRLEC is under the National Task Force to End of Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). It is composed of various national agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Labor and Employment, Development Bank of the Philippines, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Department of Agrarian Reform that are working together to address the root cause of poverty and insurgency in the country. (Rhea C. Abao, Information Officer II DA-Caraga RAFIS)