TUBA, Benguet – A farmers’ cooperative here has received two vegetable greenhouses with solar-powered drip irrigation and fertigation system worth P1.5 million courtesy of the Department of Agrarian Reform-Cordillera and DAR-Benguet.
DAR-Cordillera Director Samuel Solomero said the Taloy Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (TAFARMCO) based in Taloy Sur here received two twin butterfly-type greenhouses that are 200-square meters each.
These have a solar-powered drip irrigation and fertigation system which includes a battery, water pump, water tank, drip hose, solar-powered street lights, seedlings, and seedling trays.
A training fund of P70,000, training kits, and assorted farm input supports worth P125,000 were also given.
Solomero said these will increase production for farmer-beneficiaries and marketing of assorted organic highland vegetables.
He said all 12,191 members (ARB and non-ARB) of TAFARMCO will benefit from the greenhouses through dividends or interest on their share capital as the cooperative would manage and operate the project.
"This is the response of the agrarian reform to what our President mentioned in his first SONA to help our farmers through the support services intervention of our department," Solomero said.
TAFARMCO CEO Angel Garcia thanked the DAR for the greenhouses. “The greenhouse given to us by the DAR is a big deal for our farmers. We will use it to educate farmers to enable them to answer the food security and climate change concerns.”
The project is under DAR Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support Project-Sustainable Resilient Agrarian Reform Communities (CRFPSP-SuRe ARCs) program.
Source of funds was the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF) with SARO issued last December.