The University Extension Center (UEC), Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Training Institute III (DA-ATI3), DA-Regional Field Office 3 (DA-RFO 3), Provincial/Local Government Units (PLGUs), and National Commission for Indigenous People- Nueva Ecija Provincial Office (NCIP-NEPO) together with the Philippine Carabao Center at CLSU entrusted five female dairy buffaloes and one bull to selected Kalanguya IPs on January 17, 2020, under the Kalanguya Indigenous Peoples – Sustainable Agro-Forestry through Family Empowerment (KIP-SAFE).
Before the entrustment of the animals, a short training course was conducted on January 15-16, 2020, at the UEC, CLSU, Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija. The training includes lectures on dairy buffalo management, proper breeding and feeding practices, milk handling and quality testing, and the potential of dairying as a livelihood source.
According to NCIP-NEPO, the Province is inhabited by more or less 28,000 indigenous peoples from 11 groupings namely: Dumagat, Kalanguya, Bugkalot, Ilongot, Ibaloi, Kalinga, Ifugao, Kankanaey, Bago, Aplai, Aeta, and others. Most of them live below the poverty line due to complex reasons, such as low literacy, limited livelihood skills, lack of enough financial resources, and limited access to government services because of their distance from the center.
Thus, through this three-year project (2018-2021), the Kalanguya IP families within the Ancestral Domain barangays of Carranglan, Nueva Ecija will be capacitated. They will undertake sustainable agroforestry and related activities to improve their living conditions and contribute to watershed and environmental protection.
KIP-SAFE project is a response to the call made by the government and the request from Kalanguya IPs themselves which counts on the active collaboration of relevant member-agencies of the Central Luzon Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Network (CLAFEN) through DA-ATI3 as the network’s focal agency.
