TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) here in the region has successfully completed 480 projects under the Local Adaptation to Water Access (LAWA) and Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for the Impoverished (BINHI) initiatives.
These projects include the construction of 274 water harvesting facilities, some of which feature fish ponds.
Eleven of these facilities are located in Northern Samar, 11 in Eastern Samar, and 252 in Southern Leyte. Additionally, 210 community gardens have been established.
The water facilities will serve 138,605 square meters of agricultural land, helping farmers cope with dry spells caused by El Niño and climate change.
The community gardens, on the other hand, are expected to boost the harvest of vegetables, crops, and fruit-bearing plants in the region, providing food for more than 26,000 families.
In the implementation of Project LAWA and BINHI in the region, 3,800 individuals—referred to by the social welfare agency as “partner-beneficiaries”—underwent comprehensive training. This training covered disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and practical skills in gardening and water harvesting.
Following the training, the beneficiaries participated in 15 days of work based on activities identified by their local government units (LGUs). These activities included constructing water harvesting facilities, farming, forage production, and vermicomposting.
For their participation in the 20-day cash-for-work (CFW) and cash-for-training (CFT) sessions, each individual received P7,500.
The DSWD implements Project LAWA and BINHI to maintain agricultural productivity during dry periods and to manage excess water during periods of heavy rainfall associated with La Niña. These initiatives focus on mitigating the impacts of food insecurity and water scarcity caused by El Niño while preparing for the potential effects of the rainy season.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
