Twenty (20) personnel of the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) MIMAROPA attended a two-day Training on Community Organizing held in Cubao, Quezon City last February 18-19. The activity equipped the participants with advanced community organizing skills, enabling them to more effectively guide and support the associations benefiting from the SAAD Program.
Dir. Mary Yole Apple Declaro-Ruedas, Director for Extension and Technical Advisory Services at Occidental Mindoro State College (OMSC), served as the resource speaker. She emphasized that the training would help participants strengthen the capacity of community organizations to manage their groups and livelihoods more effectively.
The training covered essential topics including agricultural extension and its unique role in innovation and agricultural development, as well as the fundamentals of community organizing. Dir. Ruedas highlighted the “5P’s” of community organizing – problem solving, participation, people, power, and process – and discussed its objectives, principles, types, and essential qualities and skills community organizers should possess.
Participants reviewed the steps and processes of community organizing and learned practical strategies for implementing them effectively. The final session focused on project needs assessment including the application of various assessment tools. The training concluded with Dir. Ruedas sharing actionable tips on resolving conflicts within organizations. She reminded participants that passion is crucial in community organizing.
“Community organizing needs passion. Kapag wala kang passion to help the communities, walang puso talaga to help the communities that you serve – walang community na mao-organize nang tama. Tao ’yong ino-organize natin. Bago kayo dumating, farmer na sila. So, as a community development worker, ang lagi nating tinitingnan – paano ba ’yon ma-improve? Paano sila mae-empower? And that comes from passion,” she said.
(Without passion to help the communities, no heart to help the communities that you serve —no community can be properly organized. We are organizing people. Before you arrived, they were already farmers. So, as a community development worker, what we always look at is – how can that be improved? How can they be empowered?)
Participants expressed gratitude for the new knowledge gained. While some of the topics were already being applied in their work, they acknowledged that the training served as a valuable reminder and opportunity to further enhance their skills as community organizers.
“Bagama’t nagagawa na namin ang ilan sa mga natalakay sa training, nagpapasalamat pa rin po kami sa mga bagong learnings dahil palaging may room for improvement para sa amin bilang CDOs. Malaking bagay po na na-equip kami ng panibagong skills na magagamit namin pagbalik sa area,” said Ian Von A. Yadao, CDO of San Andres and Calatrava, Romblon.
(Although we are already doing some of the topics discussed in the training, we are grateful for the new learnings because there is always room for improvement for us as CDOs. It is a big thing that we have been equipped with new skills that we can use when we return to our area.)
Meanwhile, on behalf of DA MIMAROPA Regional Executive Director and SAAD MIMAROPA Focal Person Atty. Christopher R. Bañas, SAAD MIMAROPA Regional Lead Marissa D. Vargas and Institutional Development Unit (IDU) Chief Marieta Alvis-Setias thanked Dir. Ruedas and the DA-SAAD MIMAROPA staff for their active participation in the training.
“Salamat sa inyong lahat. Napakaswerte ninyo dahil ang ganitong uri ng pagsasanay ay higit pang maghahasa sa inyo upang maging mas epektibong community organizers. Sa SAAD, sinisikap nating hindi lamang mapahusay ang kakayahan ng ating mga magsasaka kundi lalo’t higit ang inyong kakayahan, sapagkat kayo ang gumagabay sa kanilang paglago,” Regional Lead Vargas said.
(Thank you to all of you. You are very fortunate because this kind of training will further hone you to become more effective community organizers. At SAAD, we strive not only to improve the skills of our farmers but even more so your abilities, because you are the ones guiding their growth.)
Currently, DA-SAAD MIMAROPA has 12 Community Development Officers assigned to 12 municipalities under the SAAD Program Phase 2 in the region.
