LUMAD LAND. Datu Dungkuan "Rio" Besto of the MILALITTTRA discusses their Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) with the graduate students.
After a successful immersion, the students of the cross-country Master in Public Management major in Rural Development (MPM-RD) course hosted by Xavier University’s Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute (Searsolin) are now ready to integrate their learning in rural development projects.
The grad students expressed that the immersion activities have provided additional perspectives to their Action Plan and Project (APP), a paper that represents an ambitious but doable initiative intended for implementation in their respective institutions and policy fields.
Moreover, they said the immersion has given them good exposure to the communities’ best practices on rural development.
Searsolin hosted the fourth series of face-to-face sessions and an immersion for the MPM-RD students from June 23 to July 4.
This program is led by the Development Academy of the Philippines in consortium with the Ateneo School of Government, University of the Philippines Diliman - College of Social Work and Community Development, and XU.
The MPM-RD students are various officers from the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources across the country.
The program employed the blended-learning approach which included a series of face-to-face sessions where the students can directly interact with their professors, as well as online classes through the Open Virtual Learning Environment (OVLê), a digital platform maintained by the UP-Diliman Interactive Learning Center for learners outside UP.
HIGHLANDS. The MPM-RD upland immersion group takes a pose in Miarayon, Talakag, Bukidnon.
XU handled two subjects in the said graduate course, namely, Agricultural and Rural Development Productivity Tools (ARDPT) and Asset Reform and Natural Resources Governance (AR-NRG).
ARDPT provided students with a toolkit of the different approaches aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity towards food security, anchored on the principles and philosophy of sustainable agriculture development. It focused on inclusive development, emphasizing the crucial roles of value chain and communication to achieve equitable opportunities for the rural poor.
On the other hand, AR-NRG introduced the students to the importance of asset reforms to sustainably govern and manage natural resources for rural development. It included topics on ecosystems-based approach management, land tenure and property rights, historical perspective of asset reform, peasant typology, and global land competition.
Select Xavier faculty members and its partner pool of experts handled the said subjects and other learning activities.
MARINE CENTER. The MPM-RD coastal immersion group visits the XU Marine Research Station in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental.
During their immersion, the students were divided into two — coastal and upland groups.
The coastal group visited the Tubajon Aquamarine Park in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental where they learned about mangrove conservation in the discussion of Barangay Tubajon chairman Terry Daroy. They also trooped to the XU Marine Research Station in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental where they were given a site tour by Gertrude Garcia, director of Xavier’s McKeough Marine Center, followed by a farm visit at the Menzi Orchard Farm in Damilag, Bukidnon in order to grasp the idea behind the ridge-to-reef approach.
The upland group went to the indigenous people (lumad) community in Miarayon, Talakag, Bukidnon. They visited agricultural farms and the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) project site, as well as the tribal hall of the Miarayon-Lapok-Lirongan-Tinaytayan Talaandig Tribal Association (MILALITTTRA). Lumad leader Datu Dungkuan “Rio” Besto and barangay captain Robert Sinulat shared the challenges and opportunities in the highlands with the grad students.
Datu Rio also discussed the land resources of the areas covered in their ancestral domain.
The students ended the immersion activity with a learning exchange together with the representatives from the local community and volunteers from the Philippine Red Cross Misamis Oriental-Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon chapters.
XU-Searsolin is looking forward to hosting more batches of the MPM-RD students to showcase ongoing development initiatives, challenges, resources, and potential of rural areas in Mindanao. ∎