A training of trainers for fishery sector of the Community Development in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao (CD-CAAM) project implemented by the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) was conducted on August 19 – 21, 2015 at Graduate School Multi-media Center, Mindanao State University – Maguindanao in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.

Said training happened after signing of the Memorandum of Partnership Agreement (MOPA) between BDA, ICNet Limited and MSU-Maguindanao.

According to Sulba G. Tulah, BDA regional field operation officer, the participants of this training were selected from the old beneficiaries of the project for fishery sector in barangays of Tambu and Solon of in Sultan Mastura, Maguindanao.

He added that participants gained prior knowledge and other related experiences that serve as important factor for them to easily develop skills on tilapia production, processing and marketing.

Prof. Delfin Papa, dean of the college of fisheries said: “as partner in this project, we did our best for you to become effective trainers that will directly perform the farmer to farmer approach in training the thirty (30) direct beneficiaries of the project on fishery sector of the extension phase of the project.”

“We are sure that you are more effective than us when it comes to the direct transfer of knowledge because you are from the community, you have direct familiarity with the beneficiaries of the project,” Prof. Papa added.

“You can easily communicate with them because you know them, you have the same dialect with them”, he further stated.

Pendatun Patarasa, IC Net Limited Project Coordinator (PC) also told participants that they did their best in order to effectively prepare you to the next part of our engagement such as the farmer to farmer approach along with the implementation of extension phase of our project on fishery sector.

Abdulnasser Akmad, BDA community organizers supervisor encouraged participants by saying the quote “the fruit of knowledge is to act upon it”.

Accordingly, learning from the training are useful if not applied.

Ms. Genuine Uko of MSUM said that the TOT is a form of training imparted to the trainees to prepare them for their future role as trainers that develop their capabilities to train others.

“TOT also helps the organizations to build their own cadre of trainers”, Ms. Uko added.

Other important part of the training, aside from the lectures and workshops was field practicum at MSU-Maguindanao fisheries department where the actual study of tilapia sex identification, water management, feed management, pond/cage preparation and record keeping were undertaken.

With effective facilitation, mentoring or peer teaching was also undertaken followed by practice teaching by farmer trainers.

This ToT is among the mutually agreed major activities of partnership agreement in the pursuit of implementation of the project in order to provide pool of lecturers/resource persons for the technology transfer of fisheries through establishing the farmer to farmer approach for the projects on fishery.

Tulah reported that the project on fishery sector is composed of tilapia fish pond and fish cage with final sites at Brgy. Balut and Tapayan of Sultan Mastura Municipality.

Signing of MoPA

The signing was on August 19, 2015 at Graduate School Multi-media Center, Mindanao State University – Maguindanao in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.

Said Memorandum of Partnership Agreement (MoPA) was signed by Engr. Ismail Guiamil, the project planning, monitoring and evaluation officer of BDA Central Management Office (CMO), MSU Chancellor Bai Soraya Q. Sinsuat, Ph.D., and ICNet Team Leader Michimasa Numata.

Accordingly, the signing set the role of the above-mentioned organizations as their agreed commitment of partnership in the implementation of the project from May 2015 to July 2016.

Engr. Abdulwahid Sendad, BDA regional coordinator of the project, he described the partnership of BDA with MSUM through their pool of experts is not just partner in the project implementation but as family because of their in-depth sincerity and activeness to do their role to ensure the success of the project.

He also commended partners of being approachable to entertain any related concern even beyond project period seen and felt by BDA since the pilot implementation.

“So, we are sure that our partnership along with the extension phase of the project on fishery sector will lead to the success of the implementation and that beneficial gain in the long run will be enjoyed by not just the direct beneficiaries but the community of Sultan Mastura as a whole”, RC Sendad ended.

CD-CAAM is implemented by BDA with support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and in partnership with IcNet Limited.