Archival: DWUP's mushroom-growing program 'nonsense, waste of money'

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City's mushroom cultivation program under the livelihood assistance has undergone scrutiny before the City Council to determine its objective, guidelines, and feasibility.

Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival Sr., however, said he is not convinced with how the publicly-funded program has been implemented as presented by the Division of the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) during the council's executive session yesterday. He called it, “nonsense” and a “waste of money."

Archival has called for the executive session to review the program, it's eligibility qualifications, guidelines, and financial assistance provided to the constituents.

He added that this stemmed from several individuals who came forward to inquire about the assistance.

During the session, Archival said that the council is seeking clarity on the qualifications for the mushroom-growing program due to his confusion about the assistance itself.

The first to appear was Catherine Maderazo Trapzi, DWUP Project Evaluation Officer III, who discussed about the office's mandate, which is primarily to assist the urban poor by providing resettlement sites and a decent housing at a most affordable cost. She said that this also comes with employment opportunities, constituting the provision of livelihood.

She said that since the creation of DWUP, the livelihood program has already existed. She added that DWUP's existing programs are backed by legal provisions as mandated by law.

On the mushroom cultivation program, she said that DWUP has aligned this assistance to fit with the urban landscape of Cebu City.

“Kung makikita n'yo, we only have limited space for green spaces, which can affect the quality of life of the people, so they have limited agricultural farming,” she said.

She cited informal employment as one of the factors that strengthened this livelihood assistance.

She said DWUP has been conducting socio-economic surveys where they assessed the most suitable livelihood programs.

To fully present the feasibility of mushroom growing, she said the DWUP initiated training, in collaboration with other agencies.

Among the findings that supported mushroom growing as the most viable option is its requirement for a minimal space.

Trapzi said her office conducted training last November and December last year. The December training was held in Barangay Binaliw, with 113 beneficiaries.

She said a beneficiary should undergo training first before he/she could receive the P4,000 seed capital from the government.

“You can just hang it on the wall. You don’t really need a big space, and 1.5 square meters is enough to cultivate 114 bags,” Trapzi said.

Trapzi said that the DWUP is collaborating with the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources (CCENRO) as mushrooms are also cultivated using compost waste.

As for market value, Trapzi said that the mushrooms they are providing, which are oyster mushrooms, are in high demand. Specifically, one mushroom bag can produce 20 to 30 grams of oyster mushrooms every two weeks, which has a market value of around P100.

In total, each bag can generate over P2,000 in revenue per week.

Trapzi said that each mushroom bag can grow in two weeks.

During her presentation, she also showed photos of mushroom bags being hung on the wall as an example of the urban cultivation method.

Archival, who is a mushroom grower himself, said that mushroom fruiting bags, when hung and cultivated in dusty areas, will be contaminated.

“If you are just going to put that on the wall without covering it, it will not prosper; it will be contaminated. And if you eat a contaminated mushroom, then there is a problem,” said Archival, adding that it should be reinforced with a humidifier or spray.

As for the first 113 beneficiaries, Trapzi admitted that some of them were able to have grown mushrooms, however, other beneficiaries have failed.

Archival then highlighted the importance of monitoring the progress of mushroom cultivation, emphasizing that it is publicly funded. Trapzi added that they have a monthly monitoring of the program.

“We need to monitor this because if we are going to give these mushrooms to the people and we don’t know what is happening to this test, we are wasting money,” said Archival.

Archival lamented that the program will become “useless” if the results are not reported back.

Trapzi, however, said that what they have given out is a trial run and that the seed capital was distributed in March of 2025.

As the discussion progressed, it was also revealed that the beneficiaries were trained to make the fruiting bags themselves as part of the cultivation process.

Archival, however, lambasted this system, saying: “Sayonan ka'g ang mga tawo nga wa gyuy kamahoan inyong gi-training unsaon paghimo aning mga ingredients gikan sa mga waste nga inyong giingon padung sa fruiting bags.”

Trapzi, however, clarified that the creation of these bags is in collaboration with the Cebu Province Cooperatives, to which Archival lamented it as a redundant system, given the training they are already conducting.

“That’s not feasible kung ikaw ra usa. It takes too much time, too much energy, and too much money,” said Archival, further lamenting the lack of progress and results monitoring.

Vice Mayor Donaldo Hontiveros, presiding officer, said that the council is digging deeper into the matter. He said that the council is being blamed for “depriving” Cebu City constituents of the livelihood program funding after these items were removed from the Supplemental Budget 1.

Trapzi, however, clarified that they no longer have control over how the beneficiaries will use the P4,000 seed capital once it is given, but they are highly encouraged to utilize it for mushroom-growing.

This system also did not sit well with Archival, saying that it is vital to monitor how this money is being spent since it comes from taxpayers’ funds.

“This project is nonsense. Nakaadto ko sa mga gitagaan ninyo, walay nitubo, nothing,” Archival said. “You could just imagine you are already spending P20 million and nothing has been done." — /JG (FREEMAN)