CITY CONDUCTS POVERTY REDUCTION SEMINAR

DAGUPAN CITY – To address hunger and malnutrition and provide additional source of income for identified poor households, the city conducted an orientation seminar to 60 households on Integrated Community Food Production (ICFP) of the National Anti-Poverty Commission at the city museum on August 3.

EMPLOYER’S FORUM – Dagupan City’s Public Employment and Services Office (PESO) in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Canada, Asian Development Bank and the Bureau of Local Employment initiates a JobStart employers’ forum at CSI Stadia on August 3 which seeks to strengthen PESO's capacity to offer timely, accurate information on job vacancies and needed skills and assist with job searches. In photo are (from left) city’s PESO manager Joy Siapno, City Administrator Farah Marie G. Decano, Mayor Belen T. Fernandez, DOLE Region 1 Director Nathaniel Lacambra and DOLE Pangasinan Field Office Head Engracio Bailon. (CIO photo by Jojo Tamay

The 60 households were from barangays Bacayao Sur, Caranglaan, Mayombo, Malued, Mangin, Tebeng, Mamalingling, Pugaro, Calmay, Bonuan Gueset, and Bonuan Binloc. They were considered recipients of the program because they have children who are nutritionally at risk.

Among the activities they underwent were orientation and planning workshop on ICFP; care and management of vegetable and root crops production; seed selection, seed sowing, land preparation, transplanting, fertilizer management, water management and harvesting; organic fertilizer production and usage; poultry production and management; infant and young child feeding; and meal planning.

The project is being spearheaded by the City Agriculture Office headed by Emma J. Molina along with the City Nutrition Office headed by Ana Mariel M. Lopez.

Mayor Belen T. Fernandez created the city’s ICFP team with her as chairperson and lawyer Liberato “Ope” Reyna of the Local Poverty Reduction Action Team as co-chairperson for the purpose of implementing the ICFP as a hunger mitigation program under the Bottom-Up-Budgeting for 2015 and 2016.

Based on the data from the City Planning and Development Office, a total of 8,364 school children (pre-school to secondary) are malnourished, which is equivalent to 13.54 percent.

As of the 2015 data of the City Social Welfare and Development Office, at least 17,331 school children are within below poverty line, which is 13.9 percent of the total population of the city.

Under the ICFP program, the families will learn, whether they are farmers or not, how to produce carbohydrate-, vitamin-, mineral-, fiber- and protein-rich foods around their homes.

The program will also provide them initial nutritious food in a period of two to three months and a sustainable food supply in a period of one year.

They will also be trained on how to sustain the project even after the termination of the program, which is expected to mitigate or eliminate hunger among the 60 participating families and reduce the incidence of malnutrition by 10 percent especially among children of the participants. (Joseph C. Bacani/CIO/Aug. 3. 2017)