MANILA – Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand and Minister of Foreign Affairs announced that New Zealand has earmarked US$2.5 million to support agricultural development and food security in Mindanao.
New Zealand Ambassador visits FAO project supporting displaced farmers in the Southern Philippines
The New Zealand assistance will fund a project that aims to reach at least 3,000 farming families in Maguindanao and Cotabato provinces.
It will build on the gains of the efforts by New Zealand and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Government of the Philippines to restore the agricultural livelihoods of communities affected by armed conflict, drought and floods in the provinces of Cotabato, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur from 2015 to 2017.
OPPORTUNITY. Distribution of farming and fisheries production inputs are currently underway in the Province of Cotabato. Photo by Saudi Ampatuan, FAO
“Agriculture sits at the heart of the development opportunity in Mindanao. Half of the Philippines’ agri-businesses are located in Mindanao. An efficient agricultural sector will enable Mindanao to fulfill its reputation as the food basket of the Philippines. The Mindanaoan economy and the health of its people depend on agricultural success.” Rt. Hon. Peters said.
The project will include the improvement of productivity, food and nutrition security and resilience of smallholders through the provision of farming inputs, agricultural machinery, post-harvest facilities and training, among others.
FAO Project Manager Maria Curado hands over certified seeds to farmers in Maguindanao.
Farmer organizations would also be integrated into the value chain through skills development and market linkages.
Another key component of the project is equipping communities with disaster risk reduction and management tools and increasing their knowledge of approaches that consider agro-ecological and socio-political-institutional contexts.
NEW HOPE. A woman fisher stands by a lake in Sitio Bulogo, Baranggay Matilac in Pigkawayan municipality and shows a gill net she received through FAO. Photo by Dante Diosina, FAO
“New Zealand’s contribution to FAO’s work in the country in recent years has resulted in more than 52,000 farming and fishing households receiving the assistance that they needed to rebuild their lives and livelihoods and become more resilient to future threats,” said José Luis Fernández, FAO Representative in the Philippines.
“The new project will provide vulnerable communities with the means to establish micro and agribusiness enterprises that can compete in new and existing markets, and also become more proactive in dealing with natural and human-induced disasters. With improved yields, increased incomes and resilience, they will have better chances to break the cycle of poverty and food insecurity,” Fernandez added.
New Zealand and FAO cooperation
The New Zealand Aid Programme is managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. MFAT has funded FAO projects globally, supporting economic and human development, improving resilience and responding to disasters, and building safe and secure communities.
FAO helps build resilience in communities affected by the El Niño in Mindanao.
In the Philippines, FAO has implemented several New Zealand-funded projects between 2011 and 2017. These include the restoration of agricultural livelihoods in conflict, flooding and drought-affected areas in Mindanao, recovery assistance to the coconut-based farming sector in the Visayas as part of the FAO Typhoon Haiyan Emergency, Recovery and Rehabilitation Programme, and the emergency delivery of seeds and fertilizer in typhoon-hit areas in Central Luzon.
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