60 woman planter group sget DSWD livelihood aid

By Cet Dematera

Some 60 women planter organizations with a total of 5,000 members in towns and city in the third district of Albay received assistance worth P10-million through the sustainable livelihood program (SLP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Bicol.

Albay 3rd District Rep. Fernando “Didi” Cabredo said that it helped first the women planters to organize and register their groups to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

“Because these women planter organizations are duly DOLE-registered they easily qualified to be recipients of the sustainable livelihood program of DSWD,” Cabredo said.

These women planter organizations are located in Guinobatan, Jovellar, Pioduran, Oas, Polangui, Libon and Ligao City.

Cabredo said these groups received cash assistance ranging from P100,000 to

P 300,000 each that they used as starting capital in their hog, poultry and rice retailing stores.

He said the women planters are also selling the harvested assorted vegetables and root crops they have planted through another program dubbed “Taranuman sa barangay” (planting in the barangay).

Cabredo said each organization is comprised of 50 to 60 women members whose main task is to plant assorted vegetables, bananas, and root crops, and raise hogs and chickens.

“This taranuman sa barangay program is aimed at producing edible plants, particularly vegetables and root crops, to respond to the scarcity of locally produced farm products this time that we are suffering from the brunt of this Covid-19 pandemic,” Cabredo said.

He said that the harvests of these women planters sell like hot cake when posted online.

“Actually, selling their harvests is not a problem. Because they produce good yields, they are easily sold when posted in the social media,” Cabredo added.

Cabredo said he would soon help husbands of these women planters to also organize and start to plant and run retailing stores.