Technical capacities of AMIA Coordinators strengthened in a three-day training

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA – A three-day training workshop on proposal writing, enterprise development, and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) was conducted for selected regional AMIA coordinators on 22-24 March 2023 at the Splash Mountain Resort, Lalakay, Los Baños, Laguna.

As part of the DA RFO 6-funded project titled “Strengthening selected AMIA Villages through Mentorship Program, and Establishment and Implementation of Gender-Sensitive Projects”, UPLBFI identified capacity building programs that will help AMIA Coordinators in Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Cordillera Administrative Region reinforce the establishment and management of AMIA villages in their respective regions.

During the first day of the training, Director Alicia Ilaga of the DA-Climate Resilient Agriculture Office (DA-CRAO) emphasized that capacitating the office’s Regional Coordinators is essential since they are the “new faces of agriculture” (Ang Makabagong Imahe ng Agrikultura) that will lead the development of more climate resilient and sustainable agricultural communities in the country.

Mr. Jonathan Austria, UPLBFI’s Junior Gender Specialist, presented the project’s gender component, which is a pilot intervention of the AMIA Program to promote women empowerment and gender equality.

On the second day, Ms. Chrystal Jane Almendralejo, DA RFO 6 Project Development Officer II, and Asst. Professor Fitz Jimenez from the College of Economics and Management (CEM) of UPLB, led the training for proposal writing and enterprise development, respectively. Ms. Almendralejo shared knowledge on the conceptualization and writing of project proposals that will help the regions access more financing opportunities. On the other hand, AProf. Jiminez, lectured on marketing of agri-enterprise products and the various critical success factors to achieve sustainable enterprise financing.

The training workshop concluded with the presentation from Ms. Arvin Jay Carandang, UPLBFI’s Project Economist, on the conduct of CBA. In an exercise, he trained the participants on the basic steps on CBA and on how to interpret and present the results. This will help the AMIA Coordinators in prioritizing and selecting the most appropriate and cost-efficient technologies and support services to invest on AMIA Villages.

In her closing remarks, Ms. Dorcas Trinidad, UPLBFI’s Project Management Specialist, thanked the participants and shared the other tools and support services being offered by the foundation related to the development of AMIA Villages.

by JDCAustria