A total of 227 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Carmen, North Cotabato recently received from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) indemnity checks with a combined amount of Php708,515.00 as compensation for their damaged crops.
The 227 recipient ARBs were insured under the PCIC’s Free Insurance Coverage and were also registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) of the government.
The recipient-ARBs are from barangays Kimadzil, Malapag, Palanggalan, Aroman, Bentangan, Kibenes, Ranzo, Tunganon, Tupig, Liliongan, Macabenban, and Poblacion.
Rosemary Calawigan, a corn farmer of Barangay Kimadzil, said the amount they received is a big help to them in buying farm inputs for them to start in the next cropping season.
“We thank the government for this help and the free insurance that they have provided to us,” she said.
Cheryll Camariñas, DAR Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer, said the insurance program covers the farmers’ crops damaged by diseases, pest infestations, and natural calamities such as typhoons, tornadoes, and earthquakes, among others.
“We encourage other ARBs to enlist themselves under the RSBSA to avail of the free insurance program of the government,” she said.
Camariñas added that the assistance is in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III to protect farmers’ livelihoods throughout the country.
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