PROSPERIDAD, AGUSAN DEL SUR —When Typhoon “Pablo” (international name: Bopha) devastated upland communities in Agusan del Sur in December 2012, many of the villagers were further pushed into poverty.
After seeing the gravity of the damage, then Gov. Adolph Edward Plaza called for a recovery and rehabilitation strategy centered on building disaster resilience.
Thus, the following year, the Upland Sustainable Agroforestry Development (Usad) program was born. Gov. Santiago Cane Jr. kept the program when he succeeded Plaza in 2019.Citing stories gathered from communities, Plaza noted that apart from having poor access to markets, poor upland farmers lacked capital and the appropriate technology, limiting their production while also keeping trapped in a debt cycle with traders just to survive from one cropping season to the next. They also remained vulnerable to unfavorable terms and pricing.Farmer-enrollees
But under the Usad program, the beneficiaries, called farmer-enrollees, were introduced to agroforestry as an approach to production. Employing this concept, specific tree species are grown either for long- and short-term cropping, with more emphasis placed on slope protection.
This way, farmers can count on a regular income while waiting for long-term trees to bear fruit or to mature as source of timber. Experts assessed the communities for crop suitability and made recommendations based on available market opportunities. They encouraged the planting of falcata, rubber and cacao, as well as high-value vegetables.
The provision of assistance —from free seedlings to knowledge transfer—is then tailored to the farmers’ chosen crops. The majority of the beneficiaries have chosen falcata for its shorter maturity period of seven to nine years. It is also good for lumber and has a pulp texture favored by wood processors.The farmers are also taught the right planting design and proper spacing, according to Vevencio Banog, a forester who serves as the program coordinator on falcata planting. In return, farmers must commit to monitor their crops’ growth and should call program technicians if they need help.
Come harvest time, the Usad program is again there to help farmers sell their products to traders who offer fair prices.The program has been successful in minimizing longtime practices that have kept farmers mired in penury, like when they are forced to sell young trees at P100,000 per hectare and leaving it to the buyer to harvest the trees upon maturity and reap a windfall. When fully grown, a falcata tree can fetch P12,000 in the local market.Usad has so far reached 5,000 farmer-enrollees in seven of the 14 towns making up Agusan del Sur. According to program head Linda Buquir, an initial survey of 944 farmers showed that at least 549 of them, or 56 percent, are earning at least P22,000 a month. Their families, she said, are no longer experiencing food shortages and the children have become less susceptible to dropping out of school due to poor grades or teenage pregnancies.Galing Pook awardee
In 2021, the Usad program was recognized with an award from the Galing Pook Foundation, whose chair, Mel Senen Sarmiento hailed the initiative for being a “game changer’’ in Agusan del Sur.During the pandemic, vegetables grown in many Usad communities helped tide the farmers over. Those who maintained tilapia ponds were assured of protein sources in their own backyard.
As the transport of goods were also restricted because of the health crisis, Buquir said the program sought solutions by partnering with the Salvacion Vegetable Growers Association (Salvega) in Bayugan City.
With fuel subsidy also made available through the program, Salvega bought the farmers’ produce at farmgate in San Francisco and Prosperidad towns and in Bayugan City and sold them through a mobile market scheme.
They also sold them to local governments, which then distributed the produce as part of the food aid for families most affected by the lockdowns.
With market access assured through Salvega, the farmers have been encouraged to continue improving production, thus giving themselves more buffer from the pandemic’s economic impact while ensuring local food supply. INQ
