Building resilience and poverty alleviation through tilapia-based skills and livelihood development in Northern Mindanao

The project aimed to teach beneficiaries skills and assist them in establishing a tilapia-based livelihood, with the objective of building resilience and alleviate indigence amidst environmental challenges. A survey of organizations and site evaluation were conducted to determine qualified beneficiaries and suitability of area. Thirteen people’s organizations, one Local Government Unit and a school were qualified as partner-beneficiaries. They were trained the technologies on tilapia hatchery operations, tilanggit production and tilapia grow-out and were assisted in starting their own livelihoods, applying the acquired skills. Start-up materials were provided: fingerlings, cage materials, feeds and equipment. They were also given trainings on value-adding, feed formulation, entrepreneurship, bookkeeping, gender and development, and climate change. Government agencies were engaged for sustainability of the initiative. At the end of the project, seven organizations were already operating their hatcheries, producing fingerlings for their use and for market. The tilanggit processed by women were highly demanded in markets and festivals. Their grown-out tilapia is sold in retail and in bulk. As a strategy, the beneficiaries planted indigenous trees in river banks in exchange for free fingerlings. It was shown that bringing science to poor communities helps mitigate impacts of climate change.