NEWSFLASH

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FROM MUSLIM REBELS TO ENTREPRENEURS

Marunggas, Sulu, Jan. 14, 2001 - Under a fabulous blue sky, a brawny man named Elol Salim wades silently through chest-deep reef waters, his alert gaze scouring the fine, sunlit sand below.

He is an old hand at patrols, being a senior commander of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which fought a guerrilla war against government forces for two decades, until the signing of the 1996 agreement.

Today, however, Kumander Salim is watching out for non-human adversaries: reef creatures such as crab which might feed on the young abalone he tends in an underwater pen.

Like Salim, many other sea-farmers in this island municipality are MNLF former combatants who now cultivate seaweed and other "crops" like abalone. They foresee turning a comfortable profit from their produce by selling to nearby Zamboanga, and are setting their sights on other Asian markets.

On the Mindanao mainland, in the once-isolated municipality of Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat, lush cornfields are fishcages teeming with tilapia near testament to the labors of another group to MNLF members, who began a new life with basic farming and are moving on to higher-value crops and greater integration into the community and economic mainstream. A little help

With material support from the Emergency Livelihood Assistance Program (ELAP), one of a number of donor-funded programs in Mindanao, these former fighters are evolving into self-reliant entrepreneurs occupied with improving the quality of their lives.

ELAP is operating in 13 provinces throughout Muslim Mindanao, helping more than 13,000 MNLF members and their families adopt alternatives to bearing arms by providing assistance for various livelihood activities.

The USAID-sponsored Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program, in collaboration with the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development and the Bangsamoro Women Foundation for Peace and Development, has been implementing the program since August 1997 in response to the government
‘s request for immediate economic assistance to demobilized MNLF troops.

Salim recalls the timeliness of the ELAP’s assistance. "My men were becoming restless. They wanted to go into seaweed farming but I could only give a limited quantity of seaweed planting materials to a few combatants," he says.

In September and May 1999, a total of 417 resident MNLF combatants and their families in Marunggas received production inputs of seaweed culture. The ELAP also brought in technicians to demonstrate the latest growing methods.

"With every planting, each participant was able to harvest about 1,000 kilos of dried seaweed, which they sold to traders for P20 per kilo," says Hector Palma, ELAP field manager.

After five cropping cycles for the first set of 50 participants and two cropping cycles for the second set of 267 participants, more than 100 of these farmers have been able to buy motorized bancas using their profits; more than 70 have expanded production; and almost all have built or repaired their houses.

Having established themselves in seaweed farming, they organized a multi-purpose cooperative and diversified into abalone culture.

"Salim and his men saw potential in abalone farming because of the abundance of seed stock in the area," says Palma. "Although it takes longer to grow and requires more capital, abalone is more lucrative than seaweed, with good markets in Zamboanga and abroad."

Live abalone is a prime shellfish delicacy sold at P220 per kilo. Every six months, a farmer can harvest about 1,000 kilos of abalone from a 0.25-hectare area and sell this for at least P220,000, earning a net income of P150,000. Seaweed culture in the same area will yield about four tons worth P80,000 at current prices, with net income of P60,000.

ELAP is now supporting the participants’ initiative in branching out into abalone culture. The program identified a Taiwanese buyer for frozen abalone and assisted the cooperative in sending a trial shipment last year. they now have a pending order for 500 kilos.

"After raising their income and meeting their families’ most pressing needs, they could now plan for the future. They began initiating other livelihood activities in their community," says Palma. Breaking the isolation

The same pattern is evident in Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat. Eighteen months ago, this predominantly Muslim municipality only a 20-minute ride from Koronadall, the bustling capital of South Cotabato was little more than an idle, cogon-choked land by the shores of Lake Buluan.

"The houses were the most makeshift I
‘d seen, with tattered nipa roofs," recalls a visitor to the area. "When I took a photo of the fields, one resident commented bitterly,
‘So, now you can see how we people live.’ Clearly, they felt trapped in the isolation and poverty which followed the long conflict."

ELAP delivered inputs good for planting 300 hectares of land to corn to 150 MNLF former combatants and their families in Lutayan. Each participant titled two hectares of land, which at harvest time yielded about 4,000 kilos per hectare. Selling their crop for P5 a kilo, they earned about P23,000 per hectare.

"Using their income, people were able to install galvanized iron sheets on their roofs for the first time," says Dang Adiong, ELAP field manager. "Some were even able to cement the floor of their houses, purchase appliances, and buy carabaos."

"Naka-installment ako corn sheller saguna naipusan ko din sabalo sa ELAP project (I bought a corn sheller on installment, which I was eventually able to pay in full through my earnings from the ELAP)," shares Boroy Mokamad, 35, father of five children. Maximizing capital

The story did not end there. After their second harvest last August, many of the participants decided to use a portion of their profits to venture into tilapia culture on Lake Buluan, using fishcages.

Initial investment in a 10x20 meter fishcage made of bamboo, tie box, nets, and strings and the acquisition of 1,000 tilapia fingerlings cost about P6,000. "Even before ELAP came into the area, some residents in Lutayan were already engaged in traditional fishing," explains Adiong. "What held them back from expanding into fish farming was simply the lack of capital and this they acquired through heir corn production."

The length of time needed to grow corn and tilapia is roughly the same, but profit from tilapia sales is greater. A grower can expect to harvest about 1.25 tons of tilapia from one fishcage. If sold at the current average price of P30 per kilo, one can then expect a gross income of around P37,500.

There is an added advantage, according to Adiong: "Unlike corn, which is vulnerable to disease and climate changes, one can expect a good harvest of tilapia unless the cage is damaged or the fish is stolen."

ELAP is also assisting this new venture. Last November, 50 participants were given fishcage materials, tilapia fingerlings, and fish feeds to start them off.

"Corn and seaweed are simple crops that earn out participants a tidy profit, then allow them to move on to higher-value products," says Noel Ruiz, ELAP team leader.

"Basically this is what the ELAP was meant to achieve, to give the participants the needed impetus to explore other enterprises," Ruiz adds. "We want them to become self-reliant." Ripple effect

Aside from sparking entrepreneurship, the ELAP has also enhanced interaction between participants and other donor agencies, local government units, and funding institutions.

The cooperative in Marunggas, for example, is now seeking technical and financial assistance from the World Bank-funded SZOPAD Social Fund and the Department of Agriculture or the construction of a warehouse and additional seaweed solar dryers.

The increased seaweed production among MNLF communities in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi has contributed to the growth of the industry and indirectly led to the formation of an industry-wide business support organization involving growers, traders, and processors.

According to Palma, the community’s recognition of the importance of the ELAP was demonstrated at the height of the hostage crisis in Sulu last year.

"A strict blockade was implemented throughout the Sulu island group by the Philippine Navy. However, they allowed ELAP seaweed farmers to travel from Jolo to Marunggas just so they could tend their farms and market their crops," he says.

"Our experience in the ELAP shows that conflict may have more to do with the lack of economic opportunity than with religious or ethnic differences," says Palma. "The more these livelihood efforts are replicated elsewhere in Mindanao, the more hope there will be that the entire island can attain permanent peace and prosperity." (Wendy Jagape-Sison , Philippine Star, GEM Program)