It is no secret that empowering people to stand on their own is more sustainable than just merely giving them their needs.
In fact, the old Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” applies now as much as it did in the olden days.
The idea is not lost on the government, with various interventions geared towards capacitating beneficiaries with the necessary skills to start, sustain, and expand livelihood businesses.
One agency that zeroes in on capability building for sustainable development includes the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and its Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
Targeting the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized
The SLP enhances the access of poor, vulnerable, and marginalized communities to livelihood opportunities, increasing productivity to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of its beneficiaries.
Two tracks are used for the implementation of the program: the Micro-Enterprise Development (MD) track for entrepreneurship opportunities and the Employment Facilitation (RF) track for beneficiaries qualified and ready for available employment opportunities.
MD modalities include the provision of the Seed Capital Fund (SCF), worth P20,000 for association enterprises and P15,000 for individual enterprises, and a Cash for Building Livelihood Assets Fund (CBLAF) commensurate to the prevailing regional minimum wage.
EF modalities meanwhile include the Employment Assistance Fund (EAF) worth P5,000 per participant and the Skills Training Fund (STF) worth P15,000 per participant.
Target beneficiaries include poor, marginalized, vulnerable, and/or disadvantaged households as identified by the DSWD’s National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), prioritizing 4Ps program participants.
Potential participants must be willing to be part of an SLP association, and those who prefer individually-managed enterprises shall be treated as walk-in participants to be served by the SLP.
SLP expansion through convergence
The SLP here in the Ilocos Region has been increasing its convergence with public and private stakeholders to enhance the assistance given to its beneficiaries.
As of September 5, 2024, the program has already forged 104 Memorandum of Agreements (MOA), 90 specific implementation agreements facilitated, 17 manifestations of support signed by its partners, and eight data sharing agreements.
Gross sales of SLP participants as a result of these partnerships and market linkages include P12.9 million in sales from January to December 2023 and P3.5 million from January to June 2024.
SLP associations with businesses successfully registered are also significant, with 82 formalized SLP enterprises, 47 registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 32 under the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and 13 under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
SLP associations that have applied for bank accounting openings have reached 1,310 region-wide, headlined by Ilocos Norte with 771 applications.
Sustainable convergence projects
Rogelio B. Bismonte III, SLP Regional Partnership Officer, says that livelihood opportunities in the Ilocos Region aim to strengthen agriculture, the main source of livelihood for the poor and marginalized in the region.
“We are looking to enhance support for SLP participants through partnerships with our stakeholders. The same is essential if we are to create an environment that fosters sustainable development,” Bismonte III said.
SLP partnerships sought with partners include those in financial service, technical assistance, product development, enhancement, and diversification, employment and market linkages, promotions, and logistical support.
Successful partnerships include the Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan – Sustainable Agriculture Program (KSK-SAP) with SLP funding worth P5.5 million for 300 beneficiaries from Ilocos Norte, La Union, and Pangasinan.
The enterprise focuses on integrated farming, with products such as semi-organic vegetables, chicken meat and eggs, pork meat, and organic fertilizers.
Another is the P10 million worth of enterprise on integrated farming in Pangasinan for 667 beneficiaries through the Pangasinan District 4 Zero Hunger.
Products produced from the above-mentioned endeavor include processed fish products, native delicacies, pickles, vegetables, chicken meat, and eggs.
What the people say
Prudencia T. Molina, a livelihood enthusiast and a prospective SLP participant from Magsingal, Ilocos Sur, says that she appreciates the government’s shift towards more sustainable livelihood opportunities, noting its potential to alleviate the plight of the poor and marginalized in the region.
“Maragsakanak iti panagbalbaliw iti ad-adu a gundaway a pagbiag. Daytoy ti pigsatayo ditoy ket kasapulantayo ti ad-adu pay a suporta ti gobierno kadagitoy,” Molina said.
(I am happy with the shift to more livelihood opportunities. This is our strength here, and we need more government support for these.)
Through livelihood opportunities targeting the poor and marginalized, government resources can be better allocated for those who need them the most, getting the country closer to its goal of sustainable development.
Those willing to know more about the SLP can contact the DSWD 1 SLP through email [email protected] or through mobile number 0917-169-1219. (AMB/CCMT, PIA La Union)
