The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Project LAWA and BINHI has established 24 water sites and 42 farms across Mountain Province since the agency introduced the cash-for-work scheme there in 2023.

The LAWA-BINHI water systems reaching farms and fishponds for food production is benefiting 1,250 partners who built and maintain the sites.

“So far we are controlling the pests and diseases (in our farms) through the IPM or cultural management and biological pesticide,” Albert Payocyoc, provincial senior agriculturist of Mountain Province, told the DSWD’s field office in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

“We are also happy because we have fertilizer for tilapia, there is more for second cropping,” Abner Bonggik, another partner-beneficiary from Barangay Balugan in Sagada, said.

In Barangay Ambasing in picturesque Sagada, partner-beneficiary Relbert Salcedo said the project also changed the mindsets of locals and prompted them to unite in solving food shortage issue and have livelihood.

From tending fishponds and cultivating vegetables to selling fresh produce, the beneficiaries collectively earned more than P50,000, according to DSWD.

The farmers and fishers sell their produce at fair prices in the Kadiwa Market, the government’s direct marketing platform.

Beyond income generation, Salcedo added that the program nurtured environmental responsibility within their community.

The DSWD, in partnership with the Provincial Agriculture Office, continues to conduct capacity building activities to ensure that beneficiaries grow not only as producers, but also as informed and responsible members of society.