CABARROGUIS, Quirino—The provincial government here has expressed intention to expand the Quirino Integrated Agricultural Development Program to serve the remaining 25 percent farmers who are living below the poverty line.
The QIADP has been carried out here from 2013-2016 by the Korea Institute for Rural Development (KIRD) through a grant of US$5 million from the Korean government’s Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the province’s counterpart of P3 million.
In his presentation of the results and lessons learned during the implementation of the project, Gov. Junie E. Cua said there is a need to lay the foundation of further intervention so that the gains made in the activities will be maximized.
He said of the 40,000 farming households in the province, 10,000 are living below the poverty line and only 95 of them were served by QIADP Phase 1 and 3,500 by the Q-Life.
“We will replicate it in the remaining 6,400 barangays so that we can maximize the gains of QIADP,” Cua added.
Cua also stressed the need to sustain the environmental protection under the agro-forestry component through expansion of integrated farming system (rice, corn, cattle, fishpond, vegetable, fruit and forest trees production).
“The province is located very strategically as a head source of a long river system, the Cagayan River that is why it is necessary to protect the environment. Anything wrong will affect the whole valley,” Cua said.
To sustain the QIADP Phase 2, the project beneficiaries will be organized into cooperatives so that they will have access to bank loans. Collaboration with funding agencies will also be strengthened with a holistic approach to integrate other sectors such as health and education.
The governor said there is a need for a strong social preparation of the program.
“We will inculcate in the beneficiaries the need to change attitude by integrating Saemaul Undong [New Village Movement] concept which we call the I Love Quirino Movement, inculcating the value of diligence, self-help, cooperation and respect for the law,” Cua said.