The Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) better known as Indigenous Peoples (IPs) are among the least focused sector in the country. Its development has long been placed on the sidelines making its people continuously wallowing with poverty.
Despite owning vast ancestral domains, majority of them remain unutilized and unproductive due to IPs incapacity to develop them for livelihood concerning the lack of farming and financial resources.
Realizing the IPs need of government intervention, President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered all government agencies to provide assistance to IPs in which the Department of Agriculture (DA) has immediately carried out.
In support with the President’s directive, the DA, headed by Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol, has launched a sustainable livelihood program for the members of the IP Community in a bid to improve their living condition and fight poverty among their communities.
Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran ng Kababayang Katutubo also known as 4Ks is a special project developed by the DA which is expected to espouse an enhanced provision of agricultural and fisheries related livelihood, investments and services to the ICCs nationwide.
4Ks Program shall only cater to organized groups, whether registered or unregistered, and whether holders or non-holders of Certificate of Ancestral Domains Title (CADT), Certificate of Ancestral Domains Claims (CADC) or Certificate of Land Owner Award (CLOA), provided that they are recognized by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) as legitimate IP Organization.
4Ks aims to help IPs maximize the use of the ancestral agricultural lands and turn it into productive, profitable, self-sustained and developed resilient agricultural enterprises.
Likewise, 4Ks program also seeks to generate additional livelihood to the IPs by sharing them knowledge on agricultural and fisheries production.
“Through this program, the DA is espousing a different but more sustainable approach in addressing poverty while at the same time promoting greater food productivity,” Agriculture Chief Piñol said.
Included in the program are series of interventions aligned for the IPs to help them in the development of their own communities.
Among the interventions offered include granting the IPs agricultural loan from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC). This will be implemented through a No-Interest, No-Collateral, Pay-Upon-Harvest loan program amounting to P300,000 for 5 hectares of Tree Farm with a 500-tree population per hectare
“The loan will be released on a monthly basis at P5,000 per month based on the assumption that the 4Ks Program will ensure that all 500 trees are growing and they will be given a monthly “maintenance” incentive of P2 per tree,” explained the Secretary.
Planting of Cacao, Coffee, Black Pepper or Abaca are also among the additional income opportunities included.
Other than tree planting, IPs will also be also be taught to raise native pigs and free range chicken while the women in the community to be established in the Ancestral Domain settlement could be taught to raise dairy goats whose production could be used in a milk-feeding program for the children in the communities.
On October 7-28, 2018, about 24 IP leaders were granted a free training on Pig Husbandry by the Agricultural Training Institute’s International Training on Pig Husbandry (ATI-ITPH).
ITPH is the only training center in Asia specializing on pig husbandry.
According to Camilo Andi Jr., Head of 4Ks – DA National IP Coordinator, an Ubo Manubo IPs from Camutan Antipas, North Cotabato ICCs, said the chosen beneficiaries will be trained to assure quality output. Likewise, instead of giving them certain amount of money, IPs will be given commodities such as native pigs and chickens.
Also, Andi said that other interventions will be determined based on the IPs preference.
“Hindi naman kasi puwedeng ibibigay mo ‘yong kung anong gusto mo, ‘yong gusto ng government agency. Tanungin mo kung anong gusto nilang project. Wag mong bigyan ng project na hindi nila gusto kasi hindi nila yan masusustain,” said Andi.
Other than being a helping hand to the ICCs, the government also expected to gain something in return which is to learn and adapt the IPs Indigenous Knowledge System and Practices (IKSP) as it likewise aims to preserve agricultural practices of the earlier generations.
IKSP are the knowledge that ICCs accumulated and developed throughout years and over generations as they live in a particular environment. This includes innovations, skills, practices and beliefs the locals have been practicing to conserve their own resources and their cultural values.
Last March 15, the DA has launched the 4Ks program in Balindog Research and Experimentation Station (BRES) in Kidapawan City North Cotabato. ### (Kuhlin Ceslie Gacula, DA Press Office)
