Located in one of the thirteen sitios of Barangay Mabini in Cadiz City, COTCOT Upland Farmers and Farmworkers Association (CUFFA) is one of the SIFI-RSS Program partners. It has 88 small farmer members planting sugarcane and other crops in their own collective land totalling to 52 hectares.
CUFFA joined the PAGSIK Incentive Program: Vegetable Gardens in 2021. Their 1,000 square meters land was utilized for planting crops like eggplants (840 hills), pole sitao (string beans at 820 hills), and bottle gourd (upo at 13 hills).
CUFFA was established during the devolution of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) program in the province of Negros Occidental. The beneficiaries own certificate of stewardship contracts and are members of ISF programs (informal settler families). Their mandate is to defend, protect, conserve, and rehabilitate local forest areas.
Through unity, hard work, and dedication toward maintaining the cleanliness and beauty of their vegetable garden, CUFFA was awarded the Best Garden of PAGSIK Incentive Program: Vegetable Gardens last November 15, 2021.
Meanwhile, STUFAWA or Sitio Tayap Upland Farm Workers Association in Brgy Patag, Silay City yielded the top harvest from their vegetable gardening. STUFAWA recorded a total harvest sale of P39, 206. STUFAWA was followed by CUFFA with P31, 830, NARBA with P26, 055, GFA with P11, 561, CADARBA with P11, 375, DFMPAFA with P5, 272, ASGARB with P4, 660, and HES2RIFA with P3, 110. Crops sold include Bitter Gourd (Ampalaya), Pechay, Eggplant (Talong), Tomato (Kamatis), String Beans/Pole Sitao, and Pepper.
SIFI-RSS awarded the winners with 5 sacks (50 kilograms) of well milled rice.
The Productivity Aid to Group of Small Farmers Improve their C(K)rop or “PAGSIK Incentives Program” is one of the key strategies under the SIFI – RSS (Responsible Sourcing from Small Landholders) Program. The PAGSIK Incentives Program currently has 10 ARBO partners.
