Ex-MNLF warriors try aquaculture

CARMEN, North Cotabato – After decades spent engaging in gun battles and trying to elude government troops, former members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and their families in this town are now leading peaceful and productive lives.

Starting over again after a peace agreement between the government and the MNLF was forged in 1996, the ex-combatants persevered in rebuilding their lives and their communities. Many of them took advantage of the opportunities extended by the national and local government, and USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program. The training and assistance provided by GEM, enabled them to earn more enough income to afford basic necessities, and to send their children to school.

Their economic transformation took place after receiving technical and financial assistance in corn farming, and later in aquaculture production, provided through the cooperative efforts of the local government and GEM under its Livelihood Enhancement and Peace (LEAP), and TCEP-LEAP initiatives. Participation in these programs also paved the way for organizing themselves into farmers’ associations or production clusters.

The LEAP and TCEP-LEAP programs have assisted former combatants throughout the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and other conflict-affected areas in Mindanao to create stable, profitable ventures, for instance, the Lumayon Village Farmers’ Association in Barangay Manarapa, led by former MNLF commander Datucon Aliudin, first began to plant corn in 2002 after receiving training and production inputs from GEM’s LEAP program.

Having become successful corn farmers, in October 2004, they received additional assistance from aquaculture experts under GEM’s Targeted Commodity Expansion Program (TCEP), and began raising high value catfish and tilapia in ponds.

Starting with two ponds, Aliudin’s group grossed P18,000 from its first harvest; money which was retained by the group and reinvested in the construction of eight additional ponds.

"Our lives have definitely improved," said Aliudin, noting that before exposure to LEAP and TCEP, they barely had enough to feed their families. "Now, we can afford basic necessities and even send our children to school," he went on.

While Aliudin’s group is now earning more from aquaculture, it is still planting corn as a source of supplementary income.

Aliudin said his groups had learned a lot from the GEM-TCEP fishery experts, ranging from pond design and construction, water management, proper fish feeding and culture, harvesting and draining of ponds, and more importantly, networking with local buyers.

Aliudin and his Lumayon Farmers’ Association co-members sell their produce direct to the market, and their network of buyers is increasing.

With growing demand for catfish and tilapia, the group now programs its production and harvest to comply with the buyers’ required volume and delivery schedules. Hence, the group maintains stability of supply and prices, thus assuring itself of profits, said Aliudin.

Another group, the Sitio Bulakan Multi-Purpose Cooperative, also composed of former MNLF men led by Tamson Antolin, is likewise raising catfish and tilapia. This group started with an 800-square meter pond, stocked with 5,000 catfish fingerlings. Saving its income from the first harvest, Antolin’s group has constructed additional ponds and bought more fingerlings.

With their increased incomes, the members of the Bulakan Cooperative can now afford to send their children to school, and to buy some amenities.

For example, Antolin’s son, Tato Madali, is set to go back to college and to pursue a degree in Education. Madali put off college for a year to focus on catfish farming, and to save money for tuition. A younger brother has just finished high school, added Madili, as he displayed a cell phone with a built in-camera, which he bought from his share in the cooperative’s earnings from catfish and tilapia.

With the Bulakan Cooperative’s success, Antolin said other residents, including rice and corn farmers, have also diversified into aquaculture.

"We are very thankful that GEM has given us the opportunity to improve our lives and our families," concluded Antolin.

All told, his group and that of Aliudin’s Lumayon farmers’ association form part of 13 cooperatives and production clusters in North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao, which are engaged in catfish and tilapia farming, according the GEM Program, The groups have a total membership of 350, comprised largely of former MNLF combatants and their families.

They were lured into aquaculture because it requires minimal investment, and the profits are attractive, noted Andigan. For instance, a 200-square meter pond, stocked with 10 tilapia fingerlings per cubic meter, can yield about 1,920 kilos, generating a net income of at least P18,000 a year, Andigan explained.

All told, according to Andigan, the combined catfish and tilapia production of the 13 GEM-TCEP groups in North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao is 240 metric tons per year, and has a gross value of P14 million.

GEM, is implemented under the oversight of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo). - GEM Program