IN AN EFFORT to protect and maintain the safety of beneficiaries, a private company in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental has recently launched a community pantry which was conducted in an orderly manner.
According to the RU Group of Companies which is based in Bacolod City, the recently conducted community pantry was done in accordance with guidelines and protocols issued by the government.
The private firm conducted the community pantry and garden to benefit the residents of Barangay Pahanocoy in Bacolod.
Following this development, the RU Group of Companies not only aims to provide immediate assistance to the affected residents, but likewise deliver livelihood opportunities as a long-term solution to uplift the lives of the beneficiaries.
RU Group of Companies head Ramon Uy Sir said they were able to distribute vegetable packs to at least 975 residents of Barangay Pahanocoy, including to the pedicab drivers plying the barangay route.
According to Uy, the endeavour became possible through a joint project that was conducted with the Barangay Council headed by Yolanda Noble, which likewise provided rice packs that were delivered to the doorsteps of the identified beneficiaries to avoid mass gatherings amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
With this, the RU Family Assistance Center (RU FAC) has also started offering Pahanocoy residents a livelihood opportunity through the conduct of training on vermicomposting.
Under the livelihood program for the targeted beneficiaries, they will be receiving some 100 African Night Crawler Worms, where they must return some 200 worms after the period of six months or earlier before they will be qualified to receive initial planting materials or seedlings for their own gardens.
Under the agreement, RU FAC will be buying the vermicast from the beneficiaries at P6 per kilo and the worms for P100 per kilo or two kilos of organic rice.
According to the RU FAC, to be able to participate in the program, the beneficiaries must attend a seminar on vermitech, and have already established a small organic garden enough to supply the daily needs of their families before they could sell the vermicast or worms back.
Upon completion of at least 10 transactions, the beneficiaries in Barangay Pahanocoy will become eligible for RU FAC membership.
RU FAC has been implementing various projects in its advocacy to empower barangay residents, particularly the farmers, with regenerative agriculture through modern and practical agricultural practices and machines.
Uy said that a contextualized action towards the pandemic and climate crisis is urgent, and they finally have an accessible solution.
To recall, the RU Foundry and Machine Shop Corporation (RUFMWSC), which is under the RU Group of Companies, has been very active in assisting the farmers in the province of Negros Occidental even before the pandemic.
It has even organized and established a KADIWA outlet in Barangay Pahanocoy to cater to the needs of consumers during the lockdown periods.
RU Group of Companies has been continuously coordinating with various government agencies and academic institutions for the benefit of farmers in the province, particularly those in the remote areas./PN
