DAR quarantine accreditation pass provides continuous income for Laguna farmer
The issuance by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of quarantine accreditation passes (QAP), to mitigate the economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, has provided a continuous income to the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) nationwide, particularly to a Laguna farmer who is experiencing difficulty trying to make both ends meet.
“The quarantine accreditation pass has been a great help and enabled us to continue making a living for our family, by selling our agricultural products in areas affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ),” thus said Lorenza Bernales Abaño better known as Ka Baby in her hometown, 54 years old, from Barangay Alipit, Magdalena, Laguna
Ka Baby is an agrarian reform beneficiary and Chairperson of the Pangkat Magsasaka ng Alipit (PAMANA) where she is also a member of the Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM).
Ka Baby was among those who encountered difficulties in selling her vegetable products, because of a lockdown in the province of Laguna and other neighboring provinces to prevent the spread of Covid-19
“With the quarantine pass issued to me, I can now sell my agricultural products, which include amplaya, eggplant, okra, sweet potato, and others, which I usually distribute and sell to the Areza Trading Post in Pansanjan, Laguna and other nearby communities,” Ka Baby said.
Ka Baby cultivates a .7500-hectare agricultural land awarded to her under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) where she gets her regular income and daily sustenance for her family.
“Every day, I usually harvest and sell eight (8) to 10 kilograms of ampalaya and eggplant aside from okra and sweet potato, which is harvested every other day” Ka Baby added.
“We are very grateful for the support of the DAR and we are earnestly praying that this crisis will soon come to an end,” she said.
Previously, DAR Secretary John R. Castriciones issued a directive to issue QAPs to ARBs after the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) authorized the agency’s request for the issuance of QAPs to allow the ARBs to distribute and sell their agricultural products in areas affected by the ECQ. (DAR)
