Participatory territorial planning. The farming systems development approach in community planning in the Philippines (PTP_PHI)
This resource documents the farming systems development (FSD) approach in community planning implemented in the Philippines between 1995 and 2002 through FAO project “Sustainable Agrarian Reform Communities–Technical Support to Agrarian Reform and Rural Development” (SARC–TSARRD).
FSD is a total development approach that aims to improve the productivity, income and welfare of farm households. The process begins by identifying people's needs, analysing their existing situation and preparing the development plan to access all available resources to implement the plan. FSD is a participatory process that addresses a wide range of social, economic and environmental problems within a given geographical territory with the purpose of improving the quality of life in farm households. These problems are usually multisectoral; hence, they require the pooled support and resources of various agencies (government, non-government, private, international and people's organizations) to ensure that interventions in the living conditions of people are effective, substantial and meaningful.
Characteristic for the approach is that local government officials and personnel are identified as major stakeholders and participants in the participatory territorial development planning process, necessitating close coordination and networking.
At an official level the development planning process has many actors in the Philippines, from the municipal up to the national level. The lowest planning level is the ‘barangay’ level, which submits development plans to the Municipal Planning and Development Office. Barangay development plans usually consist only of lists of projects that focus mainly on the infrastructure facilities that are the most obvious and easiest to identify. Although all barangays have their own development plans, many of these are not properly prepared with respect to technical feasibility, social acceptability, financial viability and environmental soundness, primarily because of the technical limitations of the barangay officials who prepare the plans. Further, the process of developing many of these plans is not always consultative.
The SARC-TSARRD project aimed to improve the planning process through capacity-building of local FSD planning teams, trained in the development process - from planning, implementation and management to monitoring and evaluation – and serving as technical development advisers to the local government units. In order to accommodate the integrated, multisectoral and interdisciplinary nature of the FSD approach to development, the FSD team is composed of members with varied academic backgrounds and work experience – agriculturists, engineers, planning officers, management specialists, economists, community organizers and socio-related professions, as well as leaders who are knowledgeable about the community's situation.
The FSD strategy is carried out in six phases. The planning process lasts approximately three to six months and comprises the first five phases. Activities in Phase 6, on the other hand, cover implementation, resource mobilization, monitoring and evaluation and are undertaken over a five-year period.
The first phase begins with an FSD orientation for officials from key agencies. The next step is to conduct a barangay workshop-consultation,with participation from community residents representing various interest groups – farmers, women, youth, barangay officials and all other sectors of the community. Participants are asked to identify and discuss in detail the major problems affecting their living conditions. Problems are prioritized and solutions are elicited. Residents are also asked how they can help to solve these problems.
The second phase focuses on preparing the community socio-economic profile. The FSD team gathers and validates the relevant data and information from line agencies and local government offices, using guidelines provided by FAO/SARC–TSARRD. The basic information to be generated and verified by the team includes data on location, accessibility, household population, socio-economic status, social services, infrastructure facilities, environment, agricultural statistics and existing organizations. The community profile and the output of the BWC provide the basis for situational analysis of the physical features, socio-economic conditions, support infrastructure and institutional set-up in the community, and eventually for developing the community-based development plan.
The third phase consists of a week-long capability-building exercise for the FSD team, to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for formulating a development plan. The format and outline of the indicative development plan, including the organization and management arrangement for coordinating its implementation, are also discussed. The training concludes with the development of a plan of action for activities in Phase 4.
During the fourth phase the FSD team conducts farm household surveys and facilitates focused group dialogue to generate primary data and information. A survey involves a minimum of 30 respondents or 10 percent of the total farm households/farming-system zone (whichever is higher) to determine the profile of households within the zone. Questions asked are related to household composition, land characteristics, capital and credit, and income. Detailed discussions about farming activities are carried out with selected groups of 10 to 15 farmers who represent the typical farmers in the zone. The topics discussed include the seasonal calendar, crop production technologies and practices, costs and return, cash flow, farm household income combinations, problems and potentials related to credit, extension, pre- and post-harvest facilities and marketing services.
During the fifth phase the draft development plan is refined in the course of a three-day residential training workshop. The proposed interventions are then presented in a plenary session in order to elicit reactions and comments from a multi-stakeholder panel, which includes government officials belonging to various agencies.
FSD is the only approach to participatory planning in the Philippines that has been applied on a large scale, and that has substantially focused on developing the economic aspects of rural development. No institution in the country has yet been able to produce planning documents with such an extensive study and analysis of farm households' living conditions and of such magnitude as the FSD plans.