BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
DIFFUN, Quirino (September 26)—A Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded watershed rehabilitation project and agroforestry support facilities worth P45.7 million have been completed to provide convenient access to the 741-hectare site development project of a people’s organization (PO) beneficiary in this town.
Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) said JICA funded the project through the Forestland Management Project (FMP) implemented by the department.
Bambalan also said the project had been completed and was turned over to the local government unit (LGU) of Diffun and its PO partner, Pimentel-Dumanisi Upland Farmers Association Inc. (Pdufai).
With this, DENR-Region 2, the LGU and Pdufai signed on September 15 a tripartite memorandum of agreement for the operation and maintenance of the project, which includes the Pimentel Hanging Bridge and the 1.7-kilometer Dumanisi access road with a hanging bridge.
The agroforestry support facilities are intended to provide access to the 741-hectare site development project of the PO beneficiary that also provides easy access to the town proper, public market, schools and hospitals.
Bambalan said the projects would improve the delivery of basic necessities and social services, particularly to residents of the villages of Dumanisi, Pimentel, Don Faustino Pagaduan and Gabriela Silang.
“These will facilitate economic activities, as the products of the beneficiaries will be easily transported from the farm to the market, thereby advancing the quality of life of upland dwellers while improving the forest condition,” she added.
Also, the construction of an irrigation pipeline system worth P7.6 million in Don Mariano Perez village will also start this month. This 8.5-kilometer pipeline system will serve as an irrigation source to ensure the survival of the 618-hectare plantation areas established by the Don Mariano Perez Farmers Consumers Cooperative for reforestation, agroforestry, fuelwood, coffee cultivation, and soil and water conservation.
During the turnover, Bambalan thanked the LGU and PO for their support, which resulted in the successful implementation of the FMP and other DENR projects in the town, which is among the few beneficiaries of the FMP in the country.
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Diffun Mayor May Calaunan thanked DENR for the infrastructure projects that will benefit her constituents.
“We are strengthening our partnership with law enforcement agencies in our all-out campaign to fight forest destruction. Please report any illegal logging activity in your areas,” she said as she appealed to PO members and residents for the protection of the forests in Quirino against illegal logging and other prohibited activities.