PIA Dispatch - Saturday, January 3, 2009

PGMA to spend first working week of 2009 in Mindanao; first full Cabinet meeting of the year in Lanao del Sur

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is going to spend her first working week in 2009 with the folks of Mindanao where she has at least 10 events lined up from Jan. 5 to 8 (Monday to Thursday).

The President’s tentative schedule as of Jan. 2 (Friday) has her going the rounds of six provinces in western and northern Mindanao, namely, Zamboanga del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Camiguin and Bukidnon, in that order.

President Arroyo will fly out Monday morning to the South, with at least five events scheduled throughout the day, three of them before noon alone.

With the presidential plane touching down at the Pagadian City Airport, the President will be immediately flown by chopper to Midsalip town in Zamboanga del Sur to visit the San Jose Parish Church.

The President will then hop on to Misamis Occidental to the east where five events await her until the following morning (Tuesday, Jan. 6), with the first event taking her to the Salug Irrigation System for a project inspection.

After Salug, the President shall visit the town of Sinicaban to inaugurate the Hatchery of the Eco-Tourism Project of the Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park (MOAP) at Dolphin Island.

Monday afternoon will have the President inaugurating the Ozamis City Public Market; and then visiting Tangub City where she will first dine with local government officials in the area before gracing the awarding ceremonies of the city’s Christmas Festival Showcase to be capped by a fireworks display.

Tuesday will kick off with the inauguration of the Clarin Birdge in Clarin, Misamis Occidental before the President flies to the south-east for the “full Cabinet meeting” at the Molundo Town Hall in Lanao del Sur.

By evening, the President will proceed north to Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental for the ceremonial signing into law of administration bills during her dinner meeting with local executives.

The President’s third day in Mindanao (Jan. 7, Wednesday) will be spent in the island province of Camiguin which is celebrating its 41st foundation anniversary. Here, the President shall lead the governance activities before luncheon with local government executives.

The fourth day in Mindanao (Thursday, Jan. 8) will have mediamen based in northern and western Mindanao interviewing the President at the Del Monte Lodge in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon before she flies back to Manila.


D.A. exploring partnership with environment group on organic fertilization, solid waste management

The Department of Agriculture is discussing a possible team-up with a pro-environment nongovernment organization (NGO) led by actress Chin-Chin Gutierrez on the production of barangay level organic fertilizers through solid waste management technologies.

Bureau of Soils and Water Management Director Silvino Tejada said the BSWM has offered to provide technical assistance to Alaga LAHAT (Lupa, Apoy, Hangin at Tubig) in applying sustainable waste management technologies in its community-led, ecology-friendly projects.

Such technologies, Tejada said, can be used by Alaga LAHAT in its ongoing “Zero Waste Tayuman” project in Manila , where the group is providing training and seminars on the establishment of Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and the composting of household and market wastes.

Gutierrez, for her part, welcomed the BSWM’s offer of assistance, saying that the partnership between Alaga and the Bureau would help in achieving a “zero waste” culture in Tayuman.

In a report to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Tejada said that with the help of the BSWM, Alaga can expand the project to include other urban centers, and later rural areas outside Metro Manila.

Alaga LAHAT has so far provided training to all village heads in Tayuman’s 44 barangays and helped set up MRFs in 10 of them. The organization’s target is to cover all barangays in Tayuman and capacitate residents to produce organic fertilizer using biodegradable solid wastes in MRFs.

“To meet the target, the BSWM offered to provide technical assistance to Alaga LAHAT,” Tejada reported to Yap . “The Bureau will help the group put in place sustainable waste management technologies that would require small spaces.”

Tejada said one such technology is vermi-composting, which is a method to produce organic fertilizer through the use of composter worms like African night crawlers. Besides household wastes, he said that garbage from nearby markets such as Quinta, Divisoria and Paco can be used as substrate or feed for the worms.

He said the vermi-compost produced by the barangays could be exchanged for vegetables or vegetable seeds to help in community-based food production projects.

The BSWM, Tejada said, can also provide assistance in setting up a portable Bio Gas generator to supplement the fuel needs of the barangays.

Earlier, the DA forged a partnership with the Federation of Free Farmers to promote organic rice production in 21 priority provinces as part of its ongoing initiatives to encourage the extensive use of non-chemical inputs and other environment-friendly fertilizer practices.

Through the BSWM, the DA is now implementing the Promotion and Development of Organic Rice Production Project in tandem with the FFF with an initial funding of P1 million.

This project is in step with President Arroyo’s Executive order No. 481, which aims to foster organic agriculture and the production of safe and healthy food crops.

Headed by former DA Secretary Leonardo Montemayor, the FFF will carry out the first phase of the project with the BSWM in 21 provinces, where five (5) techno-demo organic farms per province will be established, Yap said.

The second phase, Yap said, involves training farmer-technicians on preparing organic fertilizers and botanical pesticides.

He said the project also aims to commercially sell organic rice produced in these techno-demo farms under the FREEFARM brand.

Besides this partnership, the DA and BWSM had also forged a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), La Liga Policy Institute (LLPI) and Mayor Hernani Braganza of Alaminos City in Pangasinan on the launching of the Organic FIELDS Support Program (OFSP) in an initial six cities and municipalities in Luzon.

Launched by President Arroyo during the DA-hosted National Food Summit last April, FIELDS stands for Fertilizers, Irrigation and other rural infrastructure, Education and extension work, Loans, Dryers and other postharvest facilities, and Seeds.

Under the MOA, the DA and BWSM will give financial and technical support to OFSP to carry out the program’s first phase in three cities and three municipalities for the benefit of at least 600 farmers combined who will get hands-on training over a four-month period (November 2008-March 2009) on the methods involved in the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) production, Organic Fertilizer Production and Nature Fertilizer.

The DA has allocated P20 million for the implementation of OFSP-Phase 1 this dry crop while the BWSM will provide technology package for composting facilities in keeping with its “Tamang Abono” program. This BWSM project is a balance fertilization initiative using the Modified Rapid Composting Technology in recycling rice straws and other farm wastes into organic fertilizer.

PRRM, LLPI and Braganza, on the other hand, have committed under the MOA to oversee the implementation of Phase 1 of the OFSP in the six pilot sites this dry or summer crop, and take charge of the education and information component of this project via trainings, seminars and consultative meetings on organic fertilizer and organic fertilizer manufacturing, plus the production of TV and radio plugs and other promotional materials. (DA-PRESS OFFICE)