South Cotabato’s Lake Sebu Town Chosen as Pilot Area for Agro-Diversity Project

The scenic Lake Sebu town in South Cotabato has been chosen as among the country’s pilot areas for an agriculture biodiversity project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Justina Navarrete, chief of the South Cotabato Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG), said Friday preparations are underway for the implementation of the project by next year in five barangays in Lake Sebu.

She said the project is dubbed “Dynamic Conservation and Sustainable Use of Agro-Biodiversity in Traditional Agro-Ecosystems of the Philippines.”

The province was earlier chosen as among the pilot areas of the initiative, which will also be implemented in Hingyon and Hungduan towns in Ifugao, she said.

“It mainly aims to enhance, expand and sustain dynamic conservation practices in Lake Sebu,” Navarrete said.

She said the project, which will run from 2018 to 2020, will initially cover Barangays Lamcade, Lamfugon, Tasiman, Klubi and Luhib in Lake Sebu.

Aside from GEF, the project is supported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) serves as the project’s lead coordinating agency.

In preparation for its rollout, Navarrete said implementers from DA-BAR recently facilitated an inception workshop and orientation about the project for local stakeholders. She said the activity included sessions on the financial work plan and identification of activities that will be implemented for the preparatory period from July to December and for its actual implementation phase.

As part of the grant, she said the agency initially released various gadgets and equipment to the OPAG and the Municipal Agriculture Office of Lake Sebu. These include a desktop computer set, laptop computer, digital camera, cell phone and a printer-scanner machine, she said.

Navarrete said they consider the project as “very beneficial” to the province, especially in Lake Sebu, as it will help the local government draw up better biodiversity plans for the area. She added that it will also complement with the ongoing environmental conservations activities in Lake Sebu and the neighboring areas. (AVE/HST/PNA)