Department of Agriculture (DA) Senior Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban met the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MAFAR-BARMM), headed by their Minister, Dr. Mohammad Shuaib Yacob, during a consultative meeting on February 23, 2023. The meeting seeks to further enhance the partnership between the DA and MAFAR that will lead to the successful and effective execution of the DA program in the BARMM.

Under the guidance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., DA will assist the MAFAR-BARMM and ensure that the funds released are properly utilized for their intended purposes.

During the meeting, Sr. Usec Panganiban instructed  the DA-Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering to meet with the banner program focal persons of MAFAR-BARMM to finalize their budget execution documents.

Under the Republic Act No. 11936 or the 2023 General Appropriations Act, a total of P493, 065,000 budget was allotted to support agricultural development in the BARMM. This will be directly released to the MAFAR-BARMM for the implementation of agricultural development programs upon submission of a special budget request by the DA to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) .

The P493 million will be utilized in the following BARMM programs: National Rice Program (P253M), National Corn Program (P146.2M), National Livestock Program (P13.3M), High Value Crops Development Program (P24M), National Organic Agriculture Program (P14.8M), and the Updating of the RSBSA (P41.69M). ### (text by Kristel Joyce Merle/photos by Joseph Henry Elamparo, DA-AFID)