MANILA, Philippines - Three years after farmer Bapa Mauti underwent training on the basics of farming for household food security, he now proudly declares that aside from having sufficient food on their table, his family has been able to sell excess farm produce in the market and earn enough to buy some appliances for their home and send their children to school.
Mauti’s success in farming vegetables like ampalaya (bitter gourd), eggplant, petchay, and even rice was shared by his brother-in law Mauti Ali, 65, and his community in Pigcalagan, Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao.
Mauti’s group was among the recipients of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Social Project Fund (SPF), sourced from loans extended by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Maria Celestina Totañes, program officer of JICA-Mindanao, said JICA and IBRD chose the five provinces of ARMM – Maguindanao, Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Sulu and Tawi-tawi – to be recipients of the programs, which started in 2004.
Several barangays in the five ARMM provinces listed among the poorest in the Philippines because they have no means of livelihood, no schools, no roads and no access to basic necessities, were chosen as initial beneficiaries of the project.
Local observers say the plight of the residents in the listed areas apparently had been exploited by some local government officials, contributing to a feudal system of governance that gave rise to abuses and perpetuating a culture of violence highlighted by the now infamous Maguindanao massacre in November last year.
Representatives of the ARMM-SPF and JICA, together with members of local and national media, recently visited some of the barangays involved to check on the implementation and sustainability of the projects.
Mauti’s group showed off their bountiful harvest, living proof that the SPF has helped them improve their farms’ output and livelihood.
Although they were born, raised and grew old in their respective villages with farming as part of their daily lives, Ali admitted they did not practice efficient farming techniques that would bring them increased harvest.
Ali added that with the additional knowledge in farming, their community managed to plant and grow good quality vegetables without using artificial or chemical fertilizers, thus making their harvest free from poisonous substances, which is good for the health.
“They taught us to plant vegetables with the use of organic fertilizers from animal manure,” said Ali, who pointed out that they used to spend P10,000 for chemical fertilizers annually and still they did not get a good harvest.
In its executive summary dated Sept. 30 this year, the ARMM-SPF reported achievement of 98.20 percent cumulative performance with 987 barangays in 118 towns in the region benefiting from the project.
Nasser Sinarimbo, ARMM-SPF project manager, said the ARMM government, with the help of the IBRD and JICA, is doubling its efforts to implement its social fund project to improve local living standards.
Totañes said the SPF has three main components – community development assistance, strategic regional infrastructure and institutional strengthening and governance/development.
“Community development assistance aims to empower communities towards more active participation and management of their community affairs by providing resources for social preparation, organizing, capability building/trainings and infrastructure and livelihood,” she added.
Totañes said it involves the construction of warehouses, solar dryer, trade centers, school buildings, day care and multi-purpose centers, hanging bridge, pedestrian and footbridges, rainwater collector, wells and water supply.
“It is a unique project where communities are given direct opportunity in planning, implementation, monitoring and management based on the community’s real and felt needs,” added Totañes. “It is a community driven development.”
In Brgy. Kusiong in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao, residents established the Kusiong People’s Organization after a solar dryer was built and turned over to them through ARMM-SPF.
The solar dryer, a 450-square meter concrete structure, has helped 60-year-old farmer Reynaldo Sapi increase his copra production by 300 percent.
Before the solar dryer was constructed, Sapi recalled he was only earning some P5,000 over three months. “Without the dryer, their harvest of copra and corns got spoiled. With the solar dryer, I am now earning P15,000 from copra every three months.”
Sapi says he is also supportive of the Kusiong People’s Organization, which manages the multi-purpose center in his village that now earns from the rentals of the solar dryer and the multi-purpose center.
The Kusiong People’s Organization charges P4 for every sack of copra or corn dried. The multi-purpose center, on the other hand, can be used for functions for only P6,000, although residents of Brgy. Kusiong enjoy discounts on the rentals.
Shenlind Fanchette Aezza Sinsuat, Kusiong People’s Organization president, says they have accommodated wedding receptions, conferences and picnics in the center.
“The facilities certainly redound to the general welfare of Brgy. Kusiong constituents, particularly to the farmers’ needs on access to post harvest facilities and the economic enhancement of the community,” Sinsuat adds.
According to the organization’s report, Brgy. Kusiong, with a population of 1,815 based on a 2007 survey of the National Statistics Office (NSO), has about 17 kilometers of rough roads, making it nearly inaccessible or hard by land. Thus, residents of Barangay Kusiong are calling on the Department of Public Works and Highways to construct farm-to-market roads in the area to further spur economic activity and development.