OCCIDENTAL MINDORO – Fifty (50) beneficiaries of the DSWD MIMAROPA Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) Zero Hunger successfully graduated from Organic Agriculture Production NC II of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), yesterday, January 25, 2023, at ROMTTAC Sto. Nino, Rizal.

Present during the graduation ceremony were Mr. Dionisio Genil, TESDA’s Acting VSA III, Fritzie Endaya, Senior TESD’s Specialist, Mark Adrian Celeste, Administrative Officer V, Ana Margarette Corpuz, Acting School Registrar, and Jamaica Nicolas, PDO II of DSWD-SLP.

Under the Zero Hunger Partnership for Sustainable Living (PSL) project, the beneficiaries were given a full scholarship which they attended from October 24 to December 7, 2022. The Organic Agriculture Production NC II consists of competencies that a person must achieve to produce organic farm products such as chicken and vegetables, including producing organic supplements such as fertilizer, concoctions, and extracts. The beneficiaries were trained to be organic agriculture and vegetable farmers, chicken, hogs, small ruminants raisers, or concoctions and extracts producers.

“Malaking tulong ang scholarship na natanggap namin mula sa TESDA dahil nadagdagan ang knowledge namin sa training ng agriculture. Nagamit ko ito sa pang-araw-araw na pamumuhay lalo na sa pag-aalaga ng manok bilang mapagkukunan ng aming kabuhayan.” (The scholarship that we received from TESDA was a big help because it increases our knowledge in agriculture training. I use it in daily life especially in raising chickens as a means of our livelihood resources.), said by the 22-year old Hazel Isidro, one of the program beneficiaries.

Each program beneficiary received a P15,000.00 seed capital fund which can be used as capital needed in starting or expanding a microenterprise and a P2,800.00 transportation allowance from SLP, aside from the P6,600.00 transportation, sanitation, and communication allowance from TESDA.

“On behalf of TESDA and ROMTTAC, I think this kind of training program is very important to us because it gave the additional weapon to our clientele to transform their lives into better ones. I am looking forward to continuing this partnership program TESDA and DSWD-SLP to reduce the high poverty rate in our country.”, Mr. Dionisio A. Genil, TESDA’s Acting VSA III said.

The development partnership initiative is part of the Memorandum of Understanding between DSWD and TESDA that provides equitable access to quality and relevant education, training, and development in order for the beneficiaries to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitude to improve their socio-economic conditions.