Davao City —The Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project, together with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) and the World Bank, conducted a Basic Course on Conflict-Sensitive and Peace-Promoting (CSPP) Approaches from May 6 to 10.

The five-day training aimed to equip personnel from each component and unit of PRDP, including the National Project Coordination Office (NPCO) and Project Support Offices (PSOs) from South and North Luzon, Visayas, and the Mindanao Cluster, with the necessary knowledge and tools to effectively handle conflicts and peacebuilding efforts in the project’s implementation.

Maria Theresa Quiñones, the WB co-task Team Leader, underscored the importance of the CSPP in the successful implementation of the PRDP. She stressed that while creating opportunities for farmers and fisherfolks is a top priority, it is equally crucial to promote peace, as it is an inherent aspect of all the initiatives and efforts to be undertaken by the implementers.

“We want our proposed investment efforts to generate income and livelihood for our beneficiaries, support peacebuilding, and avoid conflicts. Let’s make the most of this opportunity with the OPAPRU team to learn about different tools and government policies that can help us enhance our implementation in PRDP,” Quiñones emphasized.

Participants gained knowledge on the fundamentals of CSPP and necessary skills and knowledge of various tools, such as conflict analysis, intervention analysis, and risk-opportunity analysis.

During the last lecture, participants had a workshop in which they analyzed the point at which they would insert Conflict Sensitivity and Peace Process enhancements into the PRDP processes and tools.

Michael Frank Alar, WB’s consultant in the Fragility, Conflict, and Violence team in the Philippines, emphasized that the bank is committed to ensuring that its assistance and funded projects are both conflict-sensitive and peace-promoting. He also encouraged participants to apply what they had learned on the field.

“The frameworks we all learned from this course may seem overwhelming, but consider it as a new lens that you are trying on for the first time. When you wear this lens in the field, you’ll be amazed at the new things that emerge in the communities you work with,” Alar concluded.

During the training’s conclusion, Noel T. Provido, the PSO Mindanao Deputy Project Director, stressed the significance of taking comprehensive action on all the inputs to sustain them. He also urged the participants to implement what they have learned in their circle of influence and their circle of control and concern, highlighting that through small steps, the effort will gradually incorporate conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding in the Project’s process.