THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has earmarked this year more than P1.4 billion budget for projects intended to ease the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

In a press briefing, Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for Special Projects Maria Isabel Lanada, said the allocated budget will be used to fund the DSWD’s initiatives dubbed as Local Adaptation to Water Access (Project Lawa) and Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for the Impoverished (Project BINHI).

Projects LAWA at BINHI are proactive interventions and sustainable solutions to combat hunger, alleviate poverty, and decrease economic vulnerability of the communities by addressing food insecurity and water scarcity that are exacerbated by climate change and disasters.

“’Yong Project LAWA ay nagkaroon na tayo ng pilot implementation last year. Ito ay ginawa sa Davao de Oro sa Mindanao, Ifugao sa Luzon, at Antique sa Visayas. Ito ay angkop na pamamaraan o teknolohiya upang magkaroon ng water availability sa mga communities,” Lanada said.

She pointed out that during the pilot testing, it was noted that people do not only need water but also nutritious food to ensure their survival and productivity.

Both projects will provide Learning and Development Sessions (LDS) on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCAM-DRR), and cash-for-work (CFW) and cash-for-training (CFT) to beneficiaries in priority areas exposed to the effects of El Niño.

The projects are also science and data-driven and are based on the Climate Outlook of the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-PAGASA) with the most number of poor families based on Listahanan 3, SAS Lanada explained.

“The target beneficiaries include families of farmers, fisher folk, indigenous peoples, and other climate and disaster-vulnerable families,” Lanada said.

Each beneficiary will be given the opportunity to participate in CFTW activities for 10 to 25 days with the corresponding daily wage based on the prevailing Regional Daily Minimum Wage Rate (RDMWR) range of the project area.

Among the projects that the beneficiaries will partake in are related to water efficiency such as construction of small farm reservoir (SFRs); repairs and rehabilitation of water harvesting facilities; repairs of multipurpose water infrastructures; diversification of water supplies; aqua or hydroponics; and aquaculture, among others.

For food security, the beneficiaries will be participating in activities such as communal vegetable gardening; urban gardening; school-based and community-based vegetable gardening; community-based diversified integrated farming; planting of disaster resilient crops, fruit-bearing trees, and mangroves; and vermicomposting.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Jester P. Manalastas