Upland Farming Model Villages Project

Background

The Upland Farming Model Villages Project (UFMVP) is a tripartite project of the Philippines Canada Development Fund (PCDF), Department of Agriculture (DA) and Davao Integrated Development Program (DIDP). It is the project in Mindanao attributed by the DA to settle the obligation of the National Agriculture and Fisheries Council (NAFC) to the PCDF.

On February 2003, Sec. Augusto Santos (then NEDA Deputy Director General and PCDF Board of Directors Chairperson), former Sec. Luis Lorenzo (then DA Secretary) and Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario (DIDP Board Chair) signed the Memorandum of Agreement that formalized the partnership among these 3 agencies and signaled the start of the project.

Goals and Objectives

The overall goal of the UFMVP is to contribute to the reduction of poverty and to the attainment of food security in the DIDP area. Specifically, it aims to increase the income of marginal upland farmers in the upland communities selected as project sites through sustainable resource management.

Components

1. Capacity Enhancement of Support Institutions

  • To strengthen the capacities of the support agencies in promoting and implementing community-based watershed development in the pursuit of sustainable upland resource management and market-led agricultural development.

2. Capacity Enhancement of Community Organizations

  • To strengthen community-based organizations in forging functional development and business linkages, establishing effective institutional and financial management, and honing marketing and enterprise development skills.

3. Sustainable Agriculture Development

  • To secure food production and increase the income of upland farmers through diversified on-farm integrated farming systems while safeguarding and improving the watershed resource base.

4. Livelihood Projects

  • To provide the upland farmers with hands-on trainings in managing rural based-enterprises.

The UFMVP is implemented in 8 barangays located in 4 cities and 4 municipalities in the Davao Region. These barangays have a total population of 29,296 (2007 Census of Population). A total of 8 cooperatives with 719 members in all were the direct beneficiaries of the activities conducted under Components 2, 3 & 4 of the project.

On the other hand, there are approximately 50 personnel from the member-LGUs of the DIDP who participated in the activities under Component 1 and who likewise facilitated the implementation of the various activities of the UFMVP in the communities.

Project Funds

In accordance with the terms and conditions of the MOA, DA transferred the amount of P 46.8 Million to the DIDP, which was done in 3 tranches: 1st (2003) - P 11.99 Million, 2nd (2004) - P24 Million, 3rd (2005) - P 10.81 Million.

The said amount was allocated among 8 member-LGUs of the DIDP. The provincial LGUs and Davao City (chartered city) has an allocation of P 7.5 Million, while the city LGUs (component cities) has P 2.3 Million. The DIDP PMO retained P 2.4 Million for the conduct of the activities under Component 1, project monitoring and evaluation, and project administration.

For this project, the implementing agencies or groups are required to provide at least 20% counterpart funds, which may be cash or in-kind. The said counterpart was shared among the DIDP, its member-LGUs, involved municipal and barangay LGUs, and the partner-cooperatives.

The DIDP PMO transfers the funds to the LGUs for the conduct of the specific sub-projects in the community level upon their submission of the necessary requirements. The LGUs administer the funds and submit the required financial reports to the PMO. The previous fund releases should be substantially liquidated (at least 75%) prior to the succeeding release of funds for the other sub-projects.

On the other hand, the funds for the livelihood projects are released as “soft loans” to the beneficiary cooperative either through in-kind or funds transfer by the LGU upon the finalization of the loan agreement between the LGU and the cooperative . Since the project adopts the “Roll-Over Scheme”, the funds collected from the repayment of the loans are used by the LGU in replicating the project in other upland areas within their respective area of responsibility.

Manner of Implementation

In the selection of the upland communities to serve as the sites of the project, the following criteria were observed:

  • Located in upland areas (at least 18% slope and elevation of at least 100 masl);
  • Beneficiaries are predominantly disadvantaged or marginalized farmers living below poverty line;
  • With security of land tenure or Certificate of Stewardship;
  • Willing to provide counterpart in the form of labor and active participation;
  • Cooperative/association must be registered with established track record and organizational credibility in the communities they serve.

The 8 participating member-LGUs of the DIDP nominated their priority sites, which were validated by the DIDP PMO in view of the above criteria. The 2 member-LGUs of the DIDP which were not part of this project is LGU-Tagum City, which doesn’t have any site that qualified as an upland area, and LGU-Mati City, which was not yet a member of the DIDP during that time.

A Project Implementing Unit (PIU) was organized in each LGU which will implement the project activities in the upland communities chosen as the project sites. The members of the PIU come from the various departments within the LGU which are involved in implementing activities similar to that of UFMVP such as the offices of Planning and Development, Agriculture, Social Services, Veterinary Services, Cooperative Development, etc.

Aside from being the recipients of the trainings provided under Component 1, the members of the PIU are the ones who prepares all the requirements needed for the release of funds for the sub-projects such as project proposal and logical framework analysis. An additional requirement is the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) Certificate which is prepared by the PIU and submitted by the DIDP PMO to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Only upon the approval of the CEEA and compliance with the other requirements shall the DIDP PMO release the funds to the LGUs. For the community trainings, only the Activity Design needs to be submitted by the LGU.

Likewise, a Technical Advisory Group was formed for this project composed of techical representatives from DIDP, NEDA, DA, DENR, DTI and DOST. The UFMVP TAG was tasked to review the proposals submitted by the LGUs and conduct periodic monitoring and assessment of the project.

Accomplishments by Component

Component 1: Capacity Enhancement of Support Institutions

There are 8 capacity enhancement activities that were conducted for the approximately 50 members of the LGU Project Implementing Units for them to effectively carry out the project activities. These activities are:

  • Participatory Rural Appraisal Workshop (November 2004)
  • Training on Proposal Making (February 2005)
  • Training on Project Management (February 2005)
  • Training on Sustainable Community Development Process (April 2005)
  • Workshop on Logical Framework Analysis (September 2005)
  • Participation in the Crop Science Society of the Philippines Conference in Palawan (May 2006)
  • Workshop on Developing and Institutionalizing a Monitoring System Flow (June 2007)
  • Exposure Trip to Bohol on Sustainable Agriculture Extension (November 2007).

Component 2: Capacity Enhancement of Community Organizations

A total of 86 trainings were provided by the LGU PIU to the 8 cooperatives for its 719 members. The trainings were customized to fit the needs of the community and the beneficiary cooperatives.

Some of these trainings were for the strengthening of the cooperative which include: organizational development and management, financial management, values re-education, etc. Technical trainings were also conducted on topics such as soil and water conservation measures, SALT, crop diversification, and technologies for the specific livelihood projects that will be implemented in the project sites.

Component 3: Sustainable Agriculture Development

There were 9 nurseries established under UFMVP, with each site having 1 nursery except for the site in Brgy. Oregon, Gov. Generoso, Davao Oriental which established 2 nurseries to serve the 2 sitios covered by the project. These nurseries are now producing the seedlings needed for the orchard, agro-forests and SWCM measures that are implemented in the sites.

Two (2) sites adopted the Sloping Agricultural Land Technology or SALT, wherein 58,700 ln.m. of hedgerows were established. 3 sites conducted riverbank stabilization under which 19,500 ln.m. of riverbank were planted with trees.

All 8 sites implemented agro-forestry and orchard development wherein approximately 2,150 hectares were developed.

Component 4: Livelihood Projects

Common to the 8 sites is the implementation of livestock dispersal project to serve as an alternative source of income for the upland dwellers. A total of 42 heads cattle, 28 heads carabao, 541 heads goat, 28 heads swine and 140 heads chicken were distributed to the beneficiaries.

Credit was also extended for the following: 5 crop production (2 banana, 1 corn, 1 abaca, 1 various crops) , 2 food processing, 1 vegetable, 1 wood furniture and 4 various facilities (chicken breeding, hog production with biogas, feedmill, agri-marketing).