Workshop Symposium on Indigenous People Development Programs and Thrusts

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the population suffering from hunger has been growing in the last 3 years, which is similar to the famine levels recorded in the previous decade. This would contribute to the development of new strategies of action that allow not only the strengthening of today’s localized agrifood systems but also the revaluation of food systems forgotten or guarded by the indigenous populations that remain present.

In response to the upcoming UN Food Systems Summit, this Workshop Symposium on IP Development Programs and Thrusts aims to promote indigenous food systems through the institutional resilience approach. There is a need to attack a global problem that affects the entire planet, including countries that have agricultural systems sensitive to the problem of climate change.

The development of the ICCs/IPs in the Philippines has long been placed on the sidelines making this sector continuously wallow in poverty. Despite their vast ancestral domains, many of these resources remain unutilized (Source: Survey Conducted by the NCIP).

The indigenous peoples in the Philippines are officially recognized by the Philippine Constitution through as RA 8371 Indigenous Peoples‟ Rights Act (IPRA). There are estimated (17) seventeen million Indigenous
Peoples (IPs) equivalent to 14% of the country’s population comprising 110 ethnolinguistic groups. Sixty-one percent (61 %) of them is concentrated in Mindanao with a population of 8,886,254 (source data: NCIP) mostly living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. IPs are among the poorest and marginalized sectors of Philippine society and experience neglect and discrimination in the provision of basic social services.

The Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran ng Kababayang Katutubo (4K) is a new Banner Program of the DA working for the Indigenous Peoples following the directives of the President for an enhanced provision of assistance in the form of agricultural and fisheries-related livelihood opportunities, investments through the provision of production and post-harvest types of machinery and equipment and various support services for the ICCs/IPs all over the country through targeted community needs- assessments. This program will link the ICCs/IPs to credit facilities and crop insurance to ensure the sustainability of the interventions. Moreover, capacity building in implementing livelihood and enterprise development projects and marketing assistance will be provided.

This program is composed of four (4) components: Social Preparation, Production and Livelihood, Marketing Assistance and Enterprise Development, and Program Management.  The Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran ng Kababayang Katutubo (4K) Program aims to develop the Ancestral Domains of the ICCs/IPs to improve its productivity by developing sustainable agricultural enterprises and profitability by increasing their income in consideration with their customs, traditions, values, beliefs, and interests.