The FAO Legislative Advisory Group-Philippines (FLAG-PH) initiative

The expansion of the FLAG-PH initiative has provided support to SDG implementation at the national and local levels. Leveraging legislation to promote peace, prosperity, and food security in the restive southern Philippines: On 29 March 2019, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was formally inaugurated, capping the decades-old negotiation between the national government and Islamic separatists in Mindanao and paving the way for peace, prosperity and development in the restive region. The newly-established regional government is comprised of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu – resource-rich but economically poor provinces marred by decades of human conflict. One of the main features of BARMM is the creation of its Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), which serves as the region’s government or Parliament. The BTA is also key in the formulation of laws and policies that will govern the region. FAO currently provides support to BARMM, specifically in the agriculture sector. The Department of Agriculture (DA), through its Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) strategy, has identified Lanao del Sur, Sulu and Maguindanao as among the ten provinces with highest incidence of poverty in the country. Likewise, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are named by the National Nutrition Council (NNC) among its priority provinces for the implementation of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2017-2022 given their high prevalence of malnutrition. Apart from food insecurity and malnutrition, poverty is also of important concern in BARMM, with the region’s poverty incidence pegged at 61.3 percent in 2018, a marked increase from the 53.7 poverty incidence in 2015 (PSA-BARMM). This high incidence of poverty is causing serious impact on the health, nutrition and access to food of the region’s peoples. FAO recognizes the importance of supporting BARMM in ensuring that food security and nutrition situation are not compromised. While support is being given to the agriculture sector, FAO also recognizes the importance of creating an enabling environment that will guide the program planners and policy makers in securing the food security and nutrition of the population in the region. As such, FLAG-PH was created to provide a platform for Parliamentarians where dialogues on laws and bills related to food security and nutrition are prioritized. In line with the notion that food security is the bedrock of this newfound peace in the region, FAO extended its FLAG-PH initiative in BARMM by establishing ties with the Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform of the BTA. In the latter part of 2020, the committee adopted a resolution officially forming the FLAG-BARMM. As part of this new partnership in the Bangsamoro region, FLAG-BARMM, with the University of the Philippines’ Research Association for Islamic Social Sciences, Inc (UP-RAISS), conducted grassroots-level consultations with BARMM smallholder farmers and fisherfolk to know and address pressing concerns that they may have. The results were shared with the BTA and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) to inform FSN legislation for the region. On 24 September 2020, a webinar on “Bayanihan Act 2” was also jointly undertaken with MAFAR to discuss and explore the Philippine Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on food systems in Mindanao. Harnessing the potential of the Bangsamoro youth: In the 2018 report of the PSA, the number of youth population aged 15-24 years was estimated at 19.9 million, representing 27.8 percent of the country’s total working age population of 71.3 million. Of the 19.9 million, 19.9 percent are categorized as not in employment or education (NEE), which implies that “1 in every 5 youth aged 15-24 years was both out-of-school and either unemployed or not in the labor force”. The results of the January 2019 Labor Force Survey conducted by PSA stated that about 1.7 million jobs were lost in the agriculture sector contributing to the decline in the actual number of employed Filipinos as compared to 2018 data. According to Santiago et al (2015) , persistent poverty levels in agricultural areas have dissuaded the Filipino youth from pursuing opportunities in the sector. But more than half of youth in BARMM belong to poor families. This is 2.1 percentage points higher than the proportion of poor youth in the Region in 2015 and is equivalent to 711.8 thousand youth who belong to a family with a per capita income that is less than the poverty threshold. BARMM has the highest poverty incidence among youth in 2018, followed by Region IX with 31.4 per cent, Caraga with 27.9 percent, and Region VII with 27.4 per cent. The proportion of food poor youth in BARMM increased by 5.1 per cent points, from 22.5 percent in 2015 to 27.6 percent in 2018. This translates to 333.1 thousand youth who belong to a family whose per capita income is less than the food threshold. BARMM posted a food threshold of Php 19,57 in 2018 . BARMM needed to directly address this problem and harness the huge potential of the Bangsamoro Youth. With the support of MAFAR, FLAG-BARMM further extended its reach to include the youth. This activity is a pilot project for a nationwide program intended to benefit the youth and enhance the legislation proficiency and capacity of the members of the Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council) or SK as a youth legislative body. To kick off this initiative, FLAG-BARMM, in cooperation with the Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) and MAFAR, held a webinar entitled “The Bangsamoro Youth at the Helm in the Region’s Food Security Development and Progress” on 4 December 2020. Despite the difficulties of internet and digital mobile connectivity in the hinterlands of Mindanao, FLAG-Youth was still able to reach youth groups and young leaders through phone interviews and, to a limited extent, via Zoom virtual meetings in the conduct of baseline studies and needs assessment surveys. Results of this survey showed that the most pressing problem in the BARMM is the ageing population of its farmers, hence the need to persuade the young people to engage in farming, agribusiness, and other agriculture-related activities. Through its awareness-raising activities, FLAG-Youth continues to engage and encourage the Bangsamoro youth to pursue agriculture as an economically viable, vibrant, and professional livelihood option, which, hopefully, will redound to the complete realization of Mindanao as the “food basket” of the Philippines.