BARMM builds harvest-saving storage in Maguindanao Sur

By Ali G. Macabalang

Above is a BIO-supplied photo showing MAFAR and local officials launching the construction of a storage facility project in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur on Oct. 12.

COTABATO CITY – The Bangsamoro region’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) has begun building a storage facility in a flood-prone village in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur, saying the intervention will abate usual losses in farming harvests among resident-peasants.

MAFAR officials launched the construction works on Oct. 12 at Barangay Damalasak, a farming village in low-lying Pagalungan town usually beset by floods, especially during rainy days.

In a news release from the Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO), MAFAR’s Director II for Agriculture Services Engr. Ismail Guiamel said the proposed building is funded under the Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM), and can store up to 10,000 bags of rice and its solar dryer has a drying capacity of 80-100 bags.

“This project will provide post-harvest storage and reduce production losses in times of disaster like floods,” the BIO quoted Guiamel as saying during the project launch.

Guiamel noted that the recipient barangay is one of the flood-prone villages in Pagalungan, a lowland town traversed by the Rio Grande de Mindanao.

The building measures 300 square meters with 420 square meters of Solar Dryer worth Php5.2-million. It also has a Multi-Pass Rice Mill (Diesel Type) worth Php2.8-million, according to MAFAR.

Pagalungan Municipal Councilor Abdul Mamasabulod has expressed gratitude to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front –led government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the BIO said.

The town official said the municipal administration is “committed” to supporting the project implementation, and ensuring utmost care for the operation of the facility when operational.

The project is expected to be completed within 150 days on or before March 11, 2023, and will be officially turned over to Damalasak Uyag Uyag Farmer’s Cooperative upon completion. (AGM)

(Above is a BIO-supplied photo showing MAFAR and local officials launching the construction of a storage facility project in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur on Oct. 12.)

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