PRDP Mindanao continues their support for local farmers and fisherfolk by linking up cooperatives to development and technology partners through the Mindanao Online C.A.F.E.

With the theme “Scaling Up Through Community Development and Technology”, PRDP Mindanao through their InfoAce and IREAP Components has invited a weekly line up of speakers from distinguished social development organizations and technology providers to talk about their advocacies and services throughout the month of October. Through this, PRDP hopes to open up possible partnerships that can help farmer and fisher groups expand or upgrade their operations.

The Foundation for a Sustainable Society, Inc. (FSSI) kicked off the weekly sessions as the first featured organization last October 7, 2022. 

FSSI is a social investment organization that offers financial support to farmers whose primary focus is on environmental protection, economic development, and social equity particularly for women’s groups and organizations. 

FSSI Executive Director Sixto Donato C. Macasaet gave a background on their organization followed by presentations from Assistant Director for Development Services Jerome R. Ignacio & Partnership Manager Irene B. Fernandez. 

FFSI promotes the triple bottom line (3BL) which is the economic participation of marginalized sectors in social enterprises and value chain, sustainable management of local ecosystems and development of climate change adaptation, mitigation, and disaster risk reduction mechanisms, and sustainable production of commodities and development of local value chains. The speakers also presented the different financial services they offer which includes loans, developmental deposits, equity, seed capital, and investment capital for women.

The non-governmental organization ThinnkFarm followed last October 12. 

As organization, ThinnkFarm promotes innovative, smart and resilient agriculture through the establishment of TESDA related courses and farming programs.

One of the systems  they promoted during their session was the “Internet-of-Things” (IOT) wherein data gathered from the farmers on the ground are analyzed to come up with targeted solutions to existing challenges in farming. In this system, all technical matters are being handled by their competent researchers while farmers will receive the interventions applicable to address their concerns.  To date, the group has been focused on bringing technologies to help coffee farmers across the Philippines including farmers in Davao del Sur with expansions soon in Sultan Kudarat and Bukidnon. 

According to the founding chairman of ThinnkFarm Ariestelo Asilo, they are also using technology to attract and encourage youth to participate and engage in farming. 

Photo op with the participants and speakers from ThinnkFarm

In his message, PSO Mindanao Deputy Project Director Noel T. Provido highlighted the importance of applying existing science and technology in agriculture.

“There should be precision and competence in agriculture. We really need to do science based approaches and apply all the existing technology available. It is good that there is an organization like ThinnkFarm who are promoting innovation and a climate resilient approach to farming,” said Provido. 

PSO Mindanao Deputy Project Director Noel T. Provido gives a short closing message.

DA-PRDP for their part has been using science based approaches and innovations in their project implementation since it was started in 2014. Some of PRDP’s science based tools and innovations include the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan, Value Chain Analysis, Applied Geotagging Technology, Vulnerability and Sustainability Assessment, Expanded Vulnerability and Suitability Assessment, Infrastructure Quality Monitoring and Durability Systems for infrastructure subprojects, and Citizen Monitoring Training. 

The weekly sessions for Mindanao Online C.A.F.E. will continue with the Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) on October 21 and SGS Philippines on October 28, 2022.

The Mindanao Online C.A.F.É. or “Convergence for Agriculture and Fishery Enterprise” is the Department of Agriculture Philippine Rural Development Project’s (DA-PRDP) way of providing a venue for the stakeholders of various priority commodities in Mindanao to share and exchange knowledge, and establish linkages between farmers, traders, and other private institutions. (Joy Montecalvo, PSO Min)