By Niño Manaog, Corazon Ditarro and Marty Delfin
To empower farmers by way of advocacy—this was the essence of the assistance extended by selected personnel of the Capiz State University (CapSU) during the Advocacy Training and Planning Workshop led by the Plan International (Plan) in cooperation with the Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA) held on August 1–3, 2011 at the Lawaan Garden Inn in Lawaan, Roxas City.
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| Ms. Corazon Ditarro (far right), agricultural engineer from CapSU Pontevedra, facilitates the group dynamics for the farmer participants. |
The workshop convened some 20 participants composed of agricultural technicians and members of three farmer’s organizations representing three towns of Capiz, namely: the Maayon Community-based Agricultural Development Organization (MCBADO); the United Men and Women for Agricultural and Fishery Development (UMWAD) Pilar; and the Pontevedra Fishers and Farmers Development Organization, Inc. (PFiFaDO).
Plan and PhilDHRRA officers were assisted by CapSU personnel including Engr. Corazon Ditarro and Engr. Marty Delfin of CapSU Pontevedra’s agricultural engineering department and Niño Manaog, university extension associate of CapSU's Research, Development and Extension Center (RDEC).
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| Engr. Marty Delfin (center) helps a Maayon farmer participant identify the items in a workshop exercise. |
During the first-day lecture workshops, participants were taught basic concepts of advocacy and the different steps of advocacy which can help them air their concerns to the local government officials. Toward the end of the three-day study, participants helped identify advocacy issues for policy formulation and drafted their own advocacy action plans for approval in their respective local government units.
Most important, the participants drew relevant advocacy action plans for approval in their respective LGUs. Led by their chairperson, 48-year-old Elvira Trinidad, MCBADO moved to pass a municipal ordinance requesting official recognition and financial support to the Barangay Farmer Agricultural Technicians (BFATS) of seven barangays of Maayon, Capiz. Trinidad’s group sought to pass an ordinance that fully recognizes and gives financial support to the BFATS in barangays of Maalan, Tuburan, Cabungahan, Manayupit, Alasaging, Parallan and Duluan.
For their part, UMWAD Pilar moved to pass legislation that penalizes farmers who burn their rice stalks in their farms. According to Vice-President Evelyn Vega, 45, they will fully coordinate with their municipal agricultural officer to lobby or advocate against those who burn rice hulls and straws across the farms in their municipality. Meanwhile, PFIFADO chose to pursue a bigger advocacy program that targets sustainable organic farming practices.
On the ordinances that the organizations wished to pass, the facilitators expressed varied insights. Calaor expressed optimism, saying it’s not hard to lobby their concern; and so ordinances will be passed. “Before October 2011, things will happen,” Calaor said.
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| University Extension Associate Niño Manaog (left) gathers vital information from PFiFaDO president Ronnie Patanao on the advocacy plans of Pontevedra. |
While Alvin Solis, Plan’s project officer for Pilar, said that farmers need more support from the LGUs as regards advocacy, Edison Advincula, his PhilDHRRA counterpart, took pride in the farmers’ accomplishment in advocacy. Advincula said Pilar’s advocacy will easily be passed.
Plan’s Mercenario San Jose and PhilDHRRA’s Alma Leaver, both project officers for Maayon, said that the advocacies need to be followed through, by way of involving the members of the LGUs and soliciting their cooperation and full support.
At this writing, the stakeholders and extension workers are pushing for the advocacy action plans of the said three towns in the province.
The advocacy training workshop forms part of Plan International’s bigger program called Productive Capacity Improvement of Civil Society Groups in the Philippine Agricultural Sector and Establishment of Safety Net Measures against Volatile Food Prices or FFP (Food Facility Project) funded by the European Commission. Since 2010, FFP has benefited 60 members of the farmers’ organization representing seven barangays representing Maayon, Pilar and Pontevedra. In all, Plan lists some 420 individual beneficiaries from each of the three municipalities.
Other components of the project included the distribution of fishing and garden inputs and garden tools and farming equipment and distribution of certified seeds and livestock; and tree planting participated in by said communities.
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| Participants and facilitators at the end of the advocacy workshop |
