MAFAR PARTICIPATES IN THE 2ND PCC MEETING WITH UN-FAO FOR THE P87.5M-WORTH AGRI-FISHERY PROJECT
After exactly a year from the first meeting held in Zamboanga City, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) of the BARMM once again partook in the second Project Coordination Meeting (PCC) via Zoom for the project called ‘Agricultural Training for the Establishment of Peace in Mindanao’ in the afternoon of November 17, 2020.
The team from the MAFAR was led by Minister Dr Mohammad S. Yacob with Deputy Minister Ammal D. Solaiman, Chief of Staff Arphia T. Ebus, FAO Partnership Programs and Special Concerns Focal Person Pendatun A. Patarasa, and Information and Training Officer Salembai A. Abdullah.
With a total fund of P87.5 million from the Government of Japan, the project will be implemented in a year period and is supposed to end within this year but was delayed due to the deterring effect of the CoViD-19 pandemic.
According to Tamara Jean Palis-Duran, OIC and Assistant FAO Representative (AFAOR), the project aims to capacitate and enhance the agricultural and vocational skills of some 2,000 farmers and fisherfolk giving more weight to former combatants and their family members, Bangsamoro Islamic Women’s Auxiliary Brigade (BIWAB), IPs, women, out-of school youth, and former beneficiaries of the JICA-MDLIP project in Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi in BARMM and Zamboanga Sibugay in Region 9.
AFAOR Duran said before the height of the pandemic, the project was able to train 102 participants in the BARMM island provinces of whom 29 were Agricultural Technologists and the team continued the conduct of series of training in Zamboanga Sibugay amid CoViD-19 situation.
Qualified groups of beneficiaries shall also be provided with starter kits that are suitable to their local line of livelihood and specific training completed.
The online meeting was highlighted by the presentation of general project overview by Roger Cabiles, UN-FAO Training Specialist, and the accomplishments from January-November 2020 that included the approved project implementation plan (PIP), financial report, good practices and achievements, and challenges and actions taken that were shared by Ruben Miranda, Project Team Leader.
Minister Yacob extended his gratitude to the UN-FAO and the Japan Government for the timely support to the farmers and fisherfolk and for the continuing partnership and assistance to the MAFAR. “We consider your efforts as your commitment in pursuing development in the Bangsamoro communities by addressing the issues and challenges they have been facing”, Dr Yacob remarked.
Dr Sailila E. Abdula, DA Assistant Secretary for BARMM, emphasized the need to change courses and modalities amid this challenging time in order to attain the goal of making the farmers competitive and equipped with effective decision-making skills and science-based technologies.
Dr Jaime Montesur, FAO MERG Team Leader, presented and endorsed the revised Resolution for Catch-Up Plan and Request for No-Cost-Extension which was agreed by the group to be put on hold for further perusal by the other team members who have not yet read the document. It will then be forwarded to Minister Yacob for his approval being the Chair of the PCC.
If approved by both the PCC and the funding authority, the project shall be implemented until September 2021 for the completion of the development, production, and distribution of training modules so with the conduct of the 70 batches of various technical and vocational skills training courses, distribution of starter kits, monitoring and assessment of the training activities, preparation and submission of project terminal report, and final PCC meeting and exit conference.
The 2nd PCC meeting via Zoom was also participated by key officials from MTIT, MBHTE, PhilRice, PhilMech, WMSU, TESDA, DA-RFO 9, BFAR-9, and ATI-RTC 9.
The meeting concluded with the message of encouragement from Focal Person Patarasa for UN-FAO to continue its assistance and the strengthening of the cooperation among the implementing agencies for the delivery of priority services to the island provinces of the BARMM.