Indigenous peoples to benefit from P6 billion agriculture project in Caraga, says DA

April 28, 2025 , 10:43 PM

(April 28, 2025) – Five indigenous peoples (IP) communities in Caraga Region were tagged as priority areas under the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project (MIADP).

The P6.6 billion program is largely funded by the World Bank. The DA contributed P863 million, while local government units provided P461 million.

“The primary goal of the MIADP in the Caraga Region is to sustainably increase agricultural productivity, enhance the resilience of IP farming systems, and improve their access to crucial markets and support services,” said Rebecca Atega, the DA’s regional technical director for operations, as quoted by the Philippine News Agency.

She added that the five IP communities covered by the project hold Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles and span more than 129,000 hectares, home to around 47,000 residents, mostly from the tribes of Manobo and Mamanwa.

According to a report by the World Bank, there are about 9.4 million IPs in the Philippines as of 2020, with the majority living in Luzon at 48.8%, followed by Mindanao at 47.2% and Visayas at 4.0%.

A study by the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center in 2022 found that around 49% of mining projects and 87% of large-scale logging operations in the Philippines affect the ancestral domains of IP communities.

Human Rights Watch reported in 2020 that many IP communities, especially in Mindanao, are victims of violence, harassment, reg-tagging, and militarization.

Last August, Pres. Bongbong Marcos Jr. expressed his administration’s support for IP communities, describing them “invaluable guardians of heritage.”

“Drawing from our genuine desire to provide them the honor they rightfully deserve, the government reassures its high regard for the indigenous peoples’ cultural integrity and commits to being responsive to their needs, especially in ways that would preserve their way of life,” said Marcos during National Indigenous Peoples Day.

(PM)

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