Alejawan Microsavers and Gardeners Association (AMAGA) Receives Livelihood Assistance from DOLE
March 2020
Zeth Antaran, WWF-Philippines’ Sustainable Food Systems Project Officer and Lace Viojan, Community Coordinator pose for a group photo with Jagna Municipal Agriculture Officer Mel Rizano, Jagna Mayor’s Secretary Antioco Lloren and Alejawan Councilor Teofilo Rana together with Michael Sabejon and Marissa Frago, NGCP’s Lead Specialists, and members of the Alejawan Microsavers and Gardeners Association (AMAGA). Photo © Zeth Antaran / WWF-Philippines
A community assisted by the LINANG - SUSTAINABLE FARM TO TABLE PROGRAMME in Jagna, Bohol got a great jumpstart as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), through their DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program and Emergency Employment Programs (DILEEP), granted the Alejawan Microsavers and Gardeners Association (AMAGA) a total of Php 487,390.00 to boost their vegetable production.
DOLE Region VII (Central Visayas) is set to award AMAGA the grant within the next few weeks. The project, “Vegetable Salad, Broiler Production, and Marketing Enterprise”, is set to run until October 2020. The objective of the grant is to support the expansion of AMAGA’s foodshed initiative. The foodshed technology is a climate-adaptive, compact, and regenerative farming approach which includes container farming, crop diversification, rainwater harvesting systems, and replicable capillary system irrigation.
By incorporating various agricultural technologies such as container farming, crop diversification, rainwater harvesting system, and capillary system irrigation, food sheds reduce the amount of land needed for farming while providing communities with nutritious food and enough surplus to turn a profit. Photo © Zeth Antaran / WWF-Philippines
The grant covers the provision of multi-cultivators, water pumps, salad and other vegetable seeds, organic fertilizer ingredients, 800 heads of broiler chicks with feeds and medicines, and insurance for all 27 AMAGA members under the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). The AMAGA members also underwent Financial Literacy Training by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) as part of the grant.
AMAGA has been a part of the Linang - Sustainable Farm to Table Programme since 2017 and they have started their formalization process and was officially registered to DOLE last September 2019. Last year,
the community was also trained on Organizational and Enterprise Development to help them manage their association and further develop their agro-enterprises. Together with the project and the continuous support of the Municipal Government of Jagna, Bohol, AMAGA was able to apply for the DILEEP grant of DOLE.
The Linang - Sustainable Farm to Table Programme is a collaboration of WWF-Philippines and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to empower rural small-holder farmers in the countryside by providing capacity development interventions on vegetable production, financial literacy and savings mobilization, and creation of viable agri-based enterprises. The project has been going on since 2017 empowering farmers in 20 host communities across the country.
By empowering rural small-holder farmers, together, we can #ChangeTheEnding for local agriculture, leading to a more food-secure Philippines for present and future generations!
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Monci Hinay
Sustainable Food Systems Project Manager
mhinay@wwf.org.ph
Mr. Zeth Antaran
Sustainable Food Systems Project Officer
zantaran@wwf.org.ph
For media arrangements, please contact:
Ms. Pam Luber
Integrated Communications Manager
pluber@wwf.org.ph
