8 Maguindanao cooperatives receive livestock projects from ARMM-HELPS Program

COTABATO CITY - Livestock projects funded by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Governance Synergy (ARMM-HELPS) Program have been formally turned over on March 14 to eight cooperatives in Maguindanao province.

The turnover ceremony was led by ARMM’s Agriculture Secretary Alexander G. Alonto, Jr. and Oskie Mohammad on behalf Director Anwar Upahm of ARMM- HELPS Project Management Office. The beneficiary cooperatives, represented by their respective chairmen, received certificates of livestock ownership, farm equipment, and project inputs.

Hadja Susan Unggel, Regional Department of Agriculture ARMM’s (DA-ARMM) focal person on the program, said each livestock project costs P1 million. The entire project covers 28 heads of cattle, cattle shed, forage and two-hectare pasture land, four rolls of hogwire, a roll of barbwire, provision of farm inputs and a training program for each cooperative.

The beneficiaries of livestock projects are as follows: 

• Pagalungan Water Refilling Consumers Cooperative in Pagalungan; 
• Bongo Island Livestock Development Multipurpose Cooperative in Tagudtungan, Parang;
• Romongaob Farmers Marketing Cooperative in South Upi; 
• Kadtabanga sa Dalpa Producers Cooperative;
• Cabayuan Farmers Marketing Cooperative in Buldon; 
• Pagkakaisa Women’s  Producers Cooperative in Datu Abdullah Sangki; 
• Tamar Kalilintad Farmers Producers Cooperative in Talayan; and
• Bangsamoro Lapok Producers Cooperative in Shariff Aguak.

ARMM-HELPS is a convergence initiative of the regional government and is regarded as the centerpiece of the Hataman administration, which has been pursuing the program’s livelihood component through the DA-ARMM and other regional line agencies. (Bureau of Public Information)