The Cooperative Development Authority – Region 4A Extension Office conducted the 8th e-COOP Forum Usapang Bayanihan Season 3 with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 4A on August 24, 2022 at 1:00PM via Zoom Platform. The activity was also livestreamed in the Facebook page of CDA CALABARZON. The e-coop forum focused on the two programs of the CDA and DSWD partnership.
The half-day forum was participated by seventeen (17) cooperatives and three (3) participants from the Cooperative Development Office from Region 4A. The participants are composed of twenty-three (23) female and seven (7) males. There were also 30 FB Live participants.
Ms. Myrna A. Maglahus-Lamug, Regional Program Coordinator of DSWD Region IV-A discussed Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) or ZERO HUNGER. The objectives of EPAHP are (1) Mitigate Hunger, (2) Food Security, and (3) Reduce Poverty. She emphasized that the program is a convergence program of various agencies who have the same objectives. Originally there were only three agencies involved namely DSWD, DAR and DA but by 2019 they garnered a total of 27 partner agencies (including the CDA) and two development partners.
Ms. Lamug also shared the Institutional framework of EPAHP namely Supply, Demand and Support. The Supply Side includes the Agriculture Sector (farmers and fishermen). Ironically, they are also the vulnerable sector. The Supply Side also includes agencies that organized associations or groups that produce food/livelihood programs. The Demand Side are agencies who have feeding program/food requirement like DSWD, DepEd and BJMP. The Support Side includes agencies that assist in marketing, financial assistance, skills training, including digitalization among others. EPAHP is a long term program because it takes time to capacitate the Community Based Organizations (CBOs), including cooperatives. The types of intervention for CBOs are also discussed, namely 1) Capacity Building, 2) Listing to the CBO Database of EPAHP, 3) Field monitoring and Evaluation, and 4) Sustainability Intervention. EPAHP is relatively a new program but is expected that more will join in this endeavor.
The second forum speaker is Mr. Jhunson Hidalgo, the Special Project Focal/Referral Focal of DSWD Region 4A. Mr. Hidalgo discussed the Sustainable Livelihood Programs (SLP). SLP is for poor, vulnerable, and marginalized households and communities to help improve their socio-economic conditions through accessing and acquiring necessary assets to engage and maintain thriving livelihoods. It has two tracks namely Micro Enterprise Development Track /Negosyo includes Seed Capital Fund (SCF), Skills Training (ST), Cash for Building Livelihood Assets (CBLA), and the Employment Facilitation Track/Trabaho (Pre Employment Assistance Fund).
Based on the comments received, many cooperatives are interested with the programs of the DSWD. The EPAHP and SLP Program will greatly benefit the cooperative sector including our PWDs and elderly.
