SERVING THE MARGINALIZED SECTOR — IP communities in Datu Saudi Ampatuan received 4,000 seedlings from the BARMM government through the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs (MIPA) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR). (Photo courtesy of the Office of MP Melanio Ulama)

COTABATO CITY — The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs (MIPA) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) distributed recently four thousand (4,000) coffee seedlings to the Indigenous People (IP) community of Sitio Firis, Barangay Kabingi in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

Member of the Parliament (MP) and MIPA Minister Melanio Ulama said the seedlings is a start-up for the livelihood of the IP farmers to aid them to come up with income-generating projects.

Ulama said the main purpose of the activity is to revive the IP community in the area.

“This community is marginalized and has been deprived of government services for a long time due to inaccessibility,” Ulama stressed.

The minister emphasized they intend to facilitate the accessibility of the IPs to the recovery and rehabilitation program of the BARMM government.

Engr. Ismail A. Guiamel, Assistant Minister for Agriculture Sector, affirmed the necessity for development of the area.

“Aside from the provision of seedlings and complimentary inputs, our office is also willing to provide technical assistance or capacity building and bring technology to the IP farmers,” Guaimel said.

He also added that the “IPs will be part of the programs of their ministry, and that the IPs will not be left behind”.

Furthermore, Ulama expressed his appreciation to the convergence between MAFAR and MIPA and said they are “looking forward for a greater endeavor with the MAFAR that will be beneficial to the IP communities”.

“The partnership of MIPA and MAFAR shall not end in the provision of agricultural inputs and assistance to the IP Farmers, but it is only just the beginning to help them elevate their livelihood,” Ulama said.

The minister added that several other IP communities near Barangay Kabingi received the same assistance from MIPA-BARMM.

Meanwhile, Ulama said other IP communities across the region will also receive their respective shares of agricultural assistance. (GALao, BTA Parliament)