Cash in Hand
PHILIPPINES’ WOMEN FARMERS BENEFIT FROM CASH TRANSFER AID Text & Photos Faizza Tanggol
Under the heat of the sun, Analyn
inspects the cabbage she has planted
a few months ago together with 39
other women in their communal
garden. They live in a village called
Paling in Piagapo, located in Lanao del
Sur in Mindanao.
Aside from cabbage, the women
farmers have planted other high-
value vegetables such as pumpkin,
eggplant and bitter gourd in their
small 20 square metre garden, as
part of the United Nations World
Food Programme’s (WFP) cash-
based project to assist communities
in rebuilding their lives after the
decades-long conflict.
Building a livelihood
Conflict and displacement often lead
to food and nutrition insecurity of
vulnerable populations. Once the
conflict is over, families sometimes
find it difficult to get back on their
feet. For Analyn and her husband, who
works as a tricycle driver, their income
is not enough to feed their family of
eight children.
WFP works with the national and
local government in the Philippines
to bring about social protection
programmes, and one of it is cash-
based transfers. In Piagapo, the
Department of Agriculture and
Fisheries-Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (DAF-ARMM)
provided complimentary vegetable
seedlings, while the local government
supported the training to farmers.
“We learned about this project from
our village chief,” shares Analyn. “So
we formed a group made up of forty
women and then we prepared the land
and planted the vegetables. The actual
work was easy especially if you have
companions with whom you can talk
with cash entitlements depending
on their days of work. Analyn and
her group worked for 30 days, so
each woman was entitled to around
PHP6,000 or US$128.
“During the first payout, I withdrew
my money at the ATM machine,”After doing their work at the vegetable garden,
farmers will receive electronic prepaid cards
with cash entitlements to buy foodto. It was fun because we could chit-
chat while planting the vegetables.”How does it work?
After doing their work at the vegetable
garden, participants will receive
electronic prepaid cards (e-cards)