#ARBinFOCUS: Meet the model ARB leader from Bautista

Jams Bangis is an award-winning, service-oriented agrarian reform beneficiary (ARB) who goes the extra mile to innovate his agricultural practices and contribute in meaningful ways to his community.

As part of his quest to hone his farming skills, Jams participated in the Palay-Aralan sa Radyo: School-on-the-Air on Smart Rice Agriculture (SOA-SRA) program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Agricultural Training Institute Regional Training Center 1 (ATI-RTC 1). The SOA-SRA of the ATI-RTC 1 was conducted online over the course of three months and produced over 2,500 farmer-graduates in the entire Ilocos Region.

Jams not only graduated along with these thousands of farmers, but was also recognized as one of the Top Achievers in his hometown Bautista. He attended the SOA-SRA graduation ceremony last August along with 62 other graduates from his municipality.

“Ako yung pinalad na maging top achiever sa SOA-SRA. Madaling araw po, 5 o’ clock, nanonood na po kami sa Facebook Live. Nag-aral po kami… at nagkaroon po kami ng mga pagsusulit,” he shared. “Nagpapasalamat po ako sa ATI, sa DA. Maraming tulong po ang nabibigay [nila].”

In addition to this achievement, Bangis was also recognized by the Local Government of Bautista for his leadership and active participation in the affairs of his hometown.

The award was conferred to him for “exemplifying the dynamism of a citizen leader worth of emulation,” the certificate read.

Bangis is one of the founders and the incumbent President of the Artacho Farmers Organization from Bautista, an enterprising ARB organization (ARBO) based in Brgy. Artacho. Under his direction, the ARBO has successfully implemented various projects of the Department of Agrarian Reform, which include the Farm Business School and the Linking Smallholder Farmers to Market and Microfinance projects, among others.

Since 2019, Bangis has served as the provincial sectoral representative for farmers’ organizations in the Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee of Pangasinan.

When asked how he manages to achieve so much with his busy schedule, Jams said that he thought of every moment as ultimately an opportunity to improve his farming practices.

“Mah