Ateneo de Davao pledges support for MinDA Tienda
Mindanao Peace Process • 10:00 AM Sat Nov 30, 2019
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By:
Manny Piñol
MinDA Sec. Emmanuel Pinol speaks to Ateneo de Davao University on advocacies and projects of MinDA.
DAVAO CITY - Officials and students of the Ateneo de Davao University have pledged to support the agency's programs to address poverty, improve productivity and achieve lasting peace in Mindanao, including the institutionalisation of the MinDA Tienda.
AdDU President Fr. Joel Tabora SJ made the commitment of support in research and field works shortly after I presented to a group of Ateneo students the various advocacies and programs of MinDA during a forum Friday, Nov. 29 at the AdDU.
The forum was aimed at telling stories to the youth on how they could participate and help in building Mindanao into a peaceful and progressive island.
Among the programs which Fr. Tabora said AdDU will support are the MinDA Tienda, Green Mindanao and the MinDA Water.
However, it was the MinDA Tienda program which gained the greatest interest from the students, especially those taking up economics and financial management.
MinDA Tienda aims to organize agriculture and fisheries stakeholders into a "corporative" which will own and operate outlets for goods needed in the rural communities to be sold at lower prices.
The MinDA Tienda will also serve as the marketing instrument for farmers and fisherfolk to protect them from profiteers.
Since the MinDA Tienda project is a work in progress, AdDU volunteered its college of economics in fine-tuning the concept.
Fr. Tabora and the students also expressed keen interest in collaborating with MinDA in the implementation of the Green Mindanao Project, which will introduce tree farming in critical watershed areas, and MinDA Water which aims to provide Solar-Powered Irrigation and Water Systems in villages in Mindanao.
Next week, the Memorandum of Agreement on the partnership and collaboration between Ateneo de Davao University and MinDA is expected to be signed.
Planning experts and technical staff of MinDA will also start an orientation program for students and members of the faculty on the details of various programs of the agency.
Students and faculty members will be asked to contribute their ideas on how to make the programs more effective and successful.
