Wednesday, June 19, 2013

ILO and BDA-SouthMin hold exploratory meeting for livelihood project

From the MILF Website (Jun 19): ILO and BDA-SouthMin hold exploratory meeting for livelihood project

Executives from the United Nations-International Labor Organization (UN-ILO) held an exploratory meeting with the regional staffs of Bangsamoro Development Agency-Southern Mindanao Regional Office (BDA-SouthMin) for a possible implementation of livelihood projects in the conflict-affected areas of Southern Mindanao.
  
In the meeting held at BDA-SouthMin Office in General Santos City on June 5, 2016, ILO Chief Technical Adviser Rahaman Omar and ILO National Project Coordinator Bernardo R. Roa IV briefed the staff of the BDA-SouthMin about the Programme for Local Economic Development through Enhanced Governance and Grassroots Empowerment (PLEDGE).

Roa said ILO will formalize Program Partnership Agreement with BDA by June 18 this year before PLEDGE will commence. There will be staff deployed in the selected BDA Regional Offices to handle the project with the assistance of BDA Regional staffs.

BDA-SouthMin Regional Manager Mohalikin D. Piang divulged that his staff are definitely capacitated and have been facilitating community capability-building trainings as part of the social preparation for projects implemented by BDA with partners like the World Bank led Mindanao Trust Fund Reconstruction and Development Program (MTFRDP) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) supported Community Development in Conflict Affected Areas in Mindanao (CD CAAM).

The two ILO representatives said PLEDGE will focus on project that has higher potential of generating employment.

“Can we transform the community? Can the community generate revenue out of the project?” Rahaman asked.
 
Roa said it is important to put value chain in the raw products from target communities. The BDA Regional Staff mentioned fishes, coconuts, corn and Cardava banana as the primary products coming from the region.

They also divulged there are very few Bangsamoro who produce coco-sugar being exported with the assistance of concerned government agencies.

Piang disclosed that most of Bangsamoro farmers are merely producers. “Farmers here plant rice, harvest then sell it. After few weeks, they will buy rice in the market for their consumption,” he said.

Regional Manager Piang realized there is indeed need for paradigm shift among the members of Bangsamoro communities “in order to become producers of value-added products and not merely raw products.”

“Putting value like quality packaging to the product will increase its marketability and profit,” Rahaman pointed out.

He exampled coffee bean which is sold to farm product buyers at PhP 80 per kilo “once you roast it, put in a good packaging, then you can sell it for a higher price.” 

“There will be inputs of money and training and in the end of the process, there will be new products,” Rahaman explained.

Piang hoped SouthMin will also be selected to implement PLEDGE. Roa said the program will be implemented in 12 communities from three towns in Mindanao.

“We came here to know what you are doing in the project implementations with your partners,” Rahaman said. He added the BDA central management has the discretion to select communities where to implement PLEDGE.
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