COTABATO CITY — As the technical secretariat of the Bangsamoro Food Sufficiency Task Force (BFSTF), the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA) reported to its officials and members, the updates on the scaling up of the โFood Security Convergence Modelโ and the crafting of the Bangsamoro Food Security and Nutrition Plan (BFSNP) 2021-2025 during its fourth regular meeting held on Wednesday, October 6.
The โtask forceโ has already started the implementation of programs and projects since mid-year of 2020 supportive to the attainment of the Bangsamoro vision towards achieving self-reliant, food secured and resilient region.
Furthermore, said task force has also started the scaling-up of the food security convergence model areas from eight (8 to sixteen (16) this year 2021, which includes the 3 towns in Basilan, 3 towns in Lanao del Sur and 10 towns in Maguindanao, with a total of 3,700 target participants.
Among the identified activities of the participants in different model areas are vegetable, cassava and banana production in Basilan; vegetable production, fish pond (inland), agroforestry nursery establishment and livestock (chicken) in Lanao del Sur; and vegetable production, tree planting, flood control dike, agroforestry nursery establishment in Maguindanao.
On July 16, 2020, the BPDA, World Food Programme (WFP), Ministries of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE), Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR), and Interior and Local Government (MILG) have entered into Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to establish the food security convergence model through MENREโs Integrated Bangsamoro Greening Program (IBGP) โKayud Ka Bangsamoro (KKB)โ, MAFARโs Basic Integration of Harmonized Intervention (BInHI), and MILGโs mainstreaming of the Disaster Risk Reduction โ Climate Change Adaptation (DRR-CCA) interventions, to promote value chain and improve the food security in the region.
As of today, around 1,000 participants who are soon to be decommissioned Moro Islamic Liberation Front – Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (MILF-BIAF) combatants turned into โPalaw Rangersโ and have already established a one-hectare vegetable production model at the sixteen (16) project sites. In Maguindanao, eight (8 convergence model areas are located in the towns of Barira, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Sultan Kudarat, Shariff Saydona, and Talayan, while the remaining six (6) are situated in the towns of Maguing, Masiu, and Butig in Lanao del Sur.
Through the BinHI program, MAFAR has distributed assorted vegetable seeds to the participants for the vegetable production model, conducted trainings on organic farming, and directly linked the participants to the MAFARLENGKE and other nearby local markets.
Moreover, the target local government units in the region are currently formulating the Convergence Area Development Plan (CADP) using the Community Based Participatory Planning (CBPP) approach. Through MILGโs DRR-CCA, four (4) batches of Trainorโs Training (TOT) on Community Based Participatory Planning (CBPP) were already conducted.
WFP supports the aforementioned BARMM agencies in developing the convergence model by providing technical assistance and conducting training-workshops to harmonize the efforts of the convergence team. In addition, the WFP has also provided cash-grant amounting to six thousand pesos (Php6,000.00) for the 1,000 participants in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur to improve their nursery and vegetable production areas.
Following the workshop on the formulation of the BFSP 2021-2025, a pool of writers from BPDA was recently formed and mandated to spearhead the crafting of the said plan. In coordination with the WFP, the BPDA immediately started its formulation.
Meanwhile, the final draft of the BFSP 2021-2025 will be presented to the task force on November 2021. (BPDA-BARMM)