As part of its continuing effort to engage the private sector in improving the lives of beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has partnered anew with SM Foundation, Inc. (SMFI) to conduct skills training for the beneficiaries.

Around 150 grantees from Tagum City, Davao del Norte were the latest beneficiaries of this joint project of the DSWD and SMFI. The beneficiaries were trained on high-value crop production as well as on organic farming which earn from and provide them fresh produce for their families.

A total of 959 families from Regions IV-A, V, VI, IX and XI trained under the DSWD-SMFI tie-up project.

The training which were conducted by Harbest Agribusiness Corporation included lectures and hands-on sessions on nursery preparation, seed sowing, land preparation, caring and nursing of seedling, pruning, trellis preparation, fruit selection and fruit thinning, pest and disease control, irrigation and drainage, and post-harvest technology.
Also integrated in the training course was an orientation on the DSWD Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) focused on Community-Driven Enterprise Development which covers self-awareness, time management, financial literacy, product management, participatory livelihood issue analysis, and value chain analysis.

DSWD and the Department of Agriculture (DA) also taught the participants about cost analysis and return of investment analysis.

Last week, at SMFI’s “Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan Farmer’s Training Program,” DSWD, SMFI, Harbest, the Provincial Government of Davao del Norte, and DA witnessed the beneficiaries’ planting activity at a demonstration farm in Barangay Madaum in Tagum City.

There they applied the farming techniques they learned from their training. The participants planted vegetables and fruits like cucumber, tomato, squash, ampalaya, bell pepper, honeydew, and gourd.

Earlier, some 154 survivors of Typhoon Pablo from Monkayo also underwent the same training and they are now maintaining their organic farm in Barangay Olaycon while some have also ventured in cultivating their own backyard garden.

DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said that DSWD engaged the participation of the private sector and civil society organizations in program implementation to ensure transparency.

“This will give our partners the chance to also observe how we implement programs to enable them to further understand and appreciate how the government works,” Sec. Soliman elaborated.

To date, 1,081 CSOs have committed to work with DSWD to assist Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries have access to income generating opportunities. In Davao Region alone, 36 CSOs have partnered with DSWD-Field Office XI.