DA-10 intensifies ground-level operations, eyes POC sub-office, research satellite in Talakag town

 

TALAKAG, BUKIDNON — The Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-10), under the leadership of Regional Executive Director (RED) Jose Apollo Y. Pacamalan, is set to intensify its grassroots presence in Bukidnon, with the establishment of a sub-office under its Provincial Operations Center (POC) and a research satellite center in this town.

The announcement follows the official turnover of the Food Terminal in Brgy. Miarayon on August 8.

The proposed sub-office will serve as a frontline operations hub for the DA-10’s field personnel, enabling them to conduct on-site probing, streamline interventions, and overall address farmers’ concerns, such as the practice of corn drying along the highways.

The agri chief exec stressed that curbing this roadside corn drying in the area firstly requires firsthand data on the local production dynamics.

“We need accurate data on farm sizes, harvest volumes, planting and harvesting calendars. With these, through the POC sub-office, we can directly consolidate and then implement both immediate and sustainable solutions,” he explained.

In a meeting with the local government unit (LGU) of Talakag, RED Pacamalan added that the agency will further augment its POC extension operations through a new research satellite office.

In support, the LGU Talakag committed to allocate areas for the establishment of the said offices.

The new POC sub-office and research satellite will both serve as a ground-level field operating center, with the latter focusing on high-value crops.

With the newly turned-over Miarayon Food Terminal, the DA-10 is set to install tramline systems, all linked to the terminal’s cold storage facility. This mechanism will ensure farmers’ product quality, facilitate faster deliveries, cut transport costs, and minimize postharvest losses.

This centralized Food Terminal also launched the 1Coop Marketplace Project, involving the indigenous Miarayon Lapok Lirongan Tinaytayan Talaandig Tribal Association (MILALITTRA) in supply operations and the FICCO Community Outreach Foundation, Inc. (FCOF) in market management.

By combining infrastructure development through private-public partnerships and with strengthened operations at the grassroots level, the DA seeks to enhance and accelerate government support services to transform food basket areas, particularly those within indigenous communities, into models of agricultural efficiency and profitability.# (BJCE)