DAR Iloilo Launches Calamansi Processing Center for ARB Organization

LEMERY, Iloilo – With an aim to boost the livelihood of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) in the province of Iloilo, the Department of Agrarian Reform Iloilo Provincial Office launched and turned over a calamansi processing center to JAGO CARP Beneficiaries Multipurpose Cooperative at Brgy. Velasco, Lemery, Iloilo.

Lemery, Iloilo, is a town rich in calamansi trees, which prompted the JAGO CARP Beneficiaries Multipurpose Cooperative to embark on a venture that utilizes the abundant raw materials in their locality. Before this launch, DAR Iloilo worked hand in hand with the Department of Trade and Industry Region 6, a CARP partner agency, providing the cooperative with training interventions that made them equipped and capable of developing products out of calamansi fruits. Seeing the potential of the products developed by JAGO CARP Beneficiaries Multipurpose Cooperative, the Department of Agrarian Reform Iloilo Provincial Office renovated the processing center, which was funded under the Village-Level Farm-Focused Enterprise Development (VLFED) project worth Php 400,000.00. The cooperative also received various supplies and materials for processing their calamansi products.

The VLFED is a project that promotes cooperation among key partner institutions, enabling them to supply technical expertise and financial support to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs). The goal is to assist these organizations in upgrading and improving their current processing centers, ensuring the production of high-quality processed goods through measures such as standardized recipes, adherence to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and comprehensive labeling and packaging. Ultimately, the desired outcome of the project is to secure a Food and Drug Administration-License to Operate (FDA-LTO) for the ARBO, validating the success of the undertaken improvements.

In a statement, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II, Harriet A. Loot, highlighted the importance of support services to ARB Organizations "the rehabilitation of the processing center of JAGO CARP Beneficiaries Multipurpose Cooperative in Lemery, Iloilo facilitates value addition by enabling farmers to