IP village in Kudarat gets agriculture aid

INDIGENOUS peoples (IPs) in Isulan town, Sultan Kudarat are delighted over the government’s P500,000 in agricultural support to the community.

The Department of Agriculture in Region 12 (DA-12) provided the IPs with hybrid corn and certified rice seeds, fertilizers, rodenticides, assorted fruit trees, organic fertilizer concoctions, open-pollinated varieties of vegetable seeds, organic fertilizer concoctions, food packs, milk products and biocontrol agents.

“We thank you for this program. You went out of your way to reach us here in the upland community,” Manobo tribal leader Babing Dondoy said.

“These projects are of great help to us. I thought we were already abandoned by the government,” he added.

With the vision of empowering IPs through agricultural initiatives, the agency launched last Friday the Sustainable Extension Activities: Outreach Program for the IP communities in Region 12 (Soccsksargen).

Sailila Abdula, DA-12 officer in charge, led the outreach program and distributed inputs for IP farmers.

A tree-planting activity and ceremonial milk-toasting were also held during the program to mitigate the impacts of climate change and combat malnutrition among children.