AKLAN, November 13, 2023 – To build a pool of competent implementers who will lead the conduct of needs assessment in poverty-stricken communities for careful community study and project planning, the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Phase 2 facilitated a weeklong Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) Training of Trainers (TOT) among implementing regions of the Visayas Cluster.

SAAD Deputy Program Director Pedro S. Dumaraos, Development Communication Practitioner adept at community-organizing, steered the discussion on PRA alongside the group of resource speakers from the SAAD CALABARZON led by OPBME Lead Girsky V. Anda together with Administrative and Procurement Head Maria Riza G. Panopio, Information Officer Nicole Sarzuelo, and Associate Project Officers Francis Dale Algar and Valerie Din who imparted valuable takeaways on the use of each PRA tool.

A thorough discussion on these tools were introduced during the training proper such as the village mapping, timeline and trend analysis, seasonal calendar, cost and return analysis, resource flow and institutional diagrams; likewise the problem-solution diagram which aimed to capture and rank the difficulties faced by the community. This is crucial in plotting the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) diagram and planning a strategic and sensible course of actions for the TOWS (reversed SWOT) and Action Plan Matrix.

The information sourced out from the local subjects will serve as a guide in understanding and analyzing the dynamics of one community. As a tool for planning, the PRA could foster a more pronounced farmers’ participation and involvement for they will lead and be guided in identifying feasible projects for themselves. This could further aid implementers in exploring and narrowing options from the ground up for possible provision of resources suited to their current and desired needs.

To complete said training, the participants visited two neighboring barangays in Tangalan, Aklan– Dumatad and Jawili. They were exposed to the communities’ social condition, through the main local informants, and drew out problems collectively identified by the community. With the use of PRA tools initially discussed, the team deployed in each barangay were able to undergo simulation exercises which did not only provide optimal learning experience, but also helped them appreciate more deeply the importance of community organizing.

Director Dumaraos reiterated the significance of the training to which he said, “The Participatory Rural Appraisal is just a dot in the social preparation process. It involves participation, reflection, and action. It is an active process – a joint dialogue – not an interview. When we go outside, let us always ask ourselves, why are we here? Why do we do these things? We need to be more in contact with the farmers because it is them who influences the direction and execution of development projects. Dapat itaas natin ang interes ng mga magsasaka. Kapag tumulong tayo, tulungan natin hanggang dulo [Let us always put our farmers’ welfare first. When we help, let’s help until the end].”

The extensive training is the 3rd batch of the series of cluster-wide PRA TOTs carried out on October 2 to 6, 2023 in Aklan Tourism and Training Center, Kalibo participated in by 60 implementers from Regions 6, 7, and 8. ###

Writer: Cedie C. Bataga, DA-SAAD Western Visayas Information Officer