TUNGAWAN, ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY – Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office 9 (DA RFO 9) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources RFO 9 (DENR RFO 9) have conducted an information and education campaign (IEC) on the Water Code of the Philippines (PD 1067) and the DA Corn Program to capacitate their stakeholders.

On separate occasions, local environment officers, people’s organization leaders, local government units’ law enforcers, and farmers were target participants of DA and DENRs IEC activities this year. The DENR Water Resources Utilization Section Chief, Arcel A. Candido, along with the DENR-WSUS personnel visited six barangays in Tungawan; namely:  Libertad, Baluran, Masao, Tigbanuang, Upper Tungawan, and Lower Tunganwan, to disseminate proper information and policies on Water Code, specifically on the protection of foreshore lands, installations, construction near rivers, shores, and lakes; and the limitations of land cultivation in these areas.

The DA, on the other hand, conducted a Corn Roadshow in barangay Loboc on October 14, 2020. Around 100 farmers were invited to attend the activity while maintaining standard health protocols. The corn roadshow opened discussions on corn production management, aflatoxins management, BIO-N applications, corn pests prevention, management and control, and corn feeds identification and soil testing.

Resource speakers came from DA Regional Crop Protection Center, Nora Sabellano and Anacleto Quilantang, BIO-N focal person Merlinda Garnica, RAFAL Staff Harvey Engreso, and DA9 Regional Corn Program Coordinator Tessie Montano.

Each farmer participant was given a pack of BIO-N, 1 kilo of OPV Corn seeds, Corn Metarizhium, and Corn Information and Communication Materials towards the end of the activity. Mr. Ariel Alvarez, Tunganwa Municipal Agriculturist, expressed his gratitude towards the NCI-SRD Convergence agencies.

“To DA and DENR, thank you for continuously visiting Tungawan and for providing agriculture assistance despite heavy rains, and the threats of Covid-19. We hope you will always assist our farmers in terms of bringing new information to help us understand new technologies, as well as learn new policies to be able to produce high harvest and good income,” he said.

Definitely, Convergence Works!