Farmer representatives from barangay Poswoy received a hand tractor awarded to them under DENR’s INREMP (PIA photo)

Fourteen projects worth P11 million under the Integrated Natural Resources and Environment Management Project (INREMP) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) were rolled out to 13 rebel-affected barangays in Kalinga.

Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Noel Barrientos said this is the DENR’s response to President Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70 to end local communist armed conflict nationwide. He added that INREMP’s barangay partners are overseeing and managing the livelihood projects to ensure that income is generated and employment opportunities are created.

These projects come in the form of farm machineries, equipment, facilities and conservation farming efforts.

In the municipality of Pinukpuk, rice and corn thresher with housing and conservation farming project were awarded to Barangay Wagod while Barangay Baay got its own cono rice mill machine and housing for rice mill, and Barangay Ammacian obtained its conservation farming assistance.

For Lubuagan municipality, representatives from respective barangays received the following — three units hand tractor with  three  units warehouse to barangay Upper Uma, rice grinding machine and one unit tractor to barangay Lower Uma and lastly two units thresher and one unit coffee grinder to barangay Tanglag.  

For yet another municipality, Balbalan, assistance came in the form of the following — four units portable rice mill, two units hand tractor and two units of thresher to Barangay Poswoy, coffee processing facility to Barangay Balantoy, three units of thresher with housing to Barangay Ab-abaan, two community-based prevention marketing projects to Barangay Mabaca and three dapilan/sugarcane mill with generator to Gawaan.

Other beneficiaries were Barangay Dupag which received a rice mill machine with housing and farm machinery while barangay Guinaang in Pasil was awarded a conservation farming project.

The beneficiary barangays were identified by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) after completing the barangay development planning effort.   (Jojo Mangahis)