EU, GERMANY LAUNCH P1-B PEACE, DEV’T PROJECT IN MINDANAO

The European Union (EU) and the German government launched a four-year project with a total budget of 18 million euros (approximately PHP1 billion) to support Mindanao’s peace and development agenda.

The program, called “Strengthening the Implementation of Regional and Local Peace and Development Agendas in Mindanao (SPADe)”, seeks to promote a peaceful, cohesive, secure, and “inclusively developed Mindanao.”

The EU Delegation on Friday said special attention would be given to vulnerable and marginalized groups, such as smallholder farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, internally displaced persons, women, and the youth.

“This new project is consistent with our EU vision, which calls for an integrated approach to conflicts, supports state and societal resilience, addresses extreme poverty, inequality, and chronic fragility,” EU Ambassador Luc Véron said.

German Ambassador to the Philippines Anke Reiffenstuel said this reflects Germany’s commitment to contributing to the peacebuilding process in the region.

SPADe will be implemented by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German government, from 2021 to June 2025 in select areas in the region.

The project is under the EU’s Mindanao Peace and Development Programme (MinPAD RISE) and co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. “With the GIZ project, the German development cooperation complements the EU-funded MinPAD RISE Programme and

continues Germany’s commitment for a peaceful and successful socio-economic development of Mindanao,” Reiffenstuel said.

For a span of more than four years, SPADe will focus on:

- Agricultural and fishery value chain development and investment promotion - Capacity building and strengthening cooperatives - Good governance promotion - Support equitable and sustainable access to natural resources - Empowerment of vulnerable groups The EU said SPADe would support the Regional Peace and Order Councils, Regional Development Councils, and non-state actors in implementing local and regional peace and development agendas.

It will also help improve the services of agricultural cooperatives to their members and promote climate-smart agricultural value chains. kicked off during a virtual ceremony hosted by MinDA on November 4. ‘Just the beginning’

During its launch, Véron said the collaboration is just the beginning of what they hoped to be a successful and meaningful action for the communities, especially the farmers, in Mindanao.

“This project comes at difficult times with the pandemic and its negative impact on the economy and the wellbeing of the communities. This is not the first EU project in Mindanao nor will be it the last,” he said, adding that for the past 10 years, they have supported the Mindanao peace process by facilitating political dialogues to ease tensions within communities.

“This new project is consistent with our EU vision, which calls for an integrated approach to conflicts, addresses extreme poverty, inequality, and chronic fragility. With you, our partners, we co-designed MinPAD RISE,” Véron said. He said the program is linked to two priorities and objectives -- inclusive growth and job creation, and peacebuilding in Mindanao.

MinDA Executive Director Undersecretary Janet Lopoz said the EUsupported program would aid the establishment of various agro-fisheries facilities in several areas of the island region, including production and logistics mechanisms aimed at assisting Mindanao’s economic recovery amid the pandemic.

“It is important that as stakeholders and partners in Mindanao’s development, we are informed of all the various efforts that we are all putting together to contribute towards making our Mindanao a more integrated, more inclusive, resilient, sustainable, and peaceful Mindanao,” Lopoz said.

“We hope that we can better think about how we can complement our initiative. And let’s see how best we can put together our efforts, complement and strengthen of our partnerships.” (With report from Che Palicte/PNA/ Joyce Ann L. Rocamora)