The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) are working on a farm-based livelihood program aimed at turning former communist rebels and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) into productive farmers, with ube and pili among the crops being considered.

The initiative took shape during a meeting between Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. and OPAPRU Secretary Mel Sarmiento, who discussed shifting former combatants from short-term skills training toward plantation-style agriculture linked to private-sector buyers.

The program could cover former communist rebels as well as members of the MILF and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), with the Armed Forces of the Philippines conducting dialogues at the barangay level. Sarmiento said authorities are currently working with about 53,000 combatants.

The effort aims to make peace more tangible by connecting reintegration with rural development, turning former combatants into producers, and giving communities an economic reason to choose peace and keep it. ### (Photos by Darrel Gultia, DA-OSEC Comms)