Book Description

The goals of the National Workshop on Micro-enterprise Development in Coastal Communities in the Philippines were to exchange experiences and good practices and to identify financial and institutional support services and facilities to sustain livelihoods and micro-enterprise development in coastal areas. The workshop was attended by 45 participants from people's organizations, fisherfolk cooperatives, non-governmental organizations, national government agencies and financing institutions. The discussions at the workshop showed that livelihood diversification and the improvement of income and employment opportunities in coastal fishing communities are crucial for their participation in the conservation and management of aquatic resources. Key elements of sustainable micro-enterprise development as identified by the workshop include capability building of fisherfolk organizations such as cooperatives and associations to implement livelihood projects, the preparation of feasibility studies and business plans, technical skills development, sound financial management practices, development of innovative and high quality products, access to new markets including urban and regional markets and the full participation of fisherfolk in the identification of livelihood activities and micro-enterprises. The Pilot Project in Support of the Development of Micro-enterprises in Banate Bay, Iloilo and Southern Iloilo was implemented by the University of the Philippines in the Visayas in cooperation with the Banate Bay Resource Management Council Inc. and the Southern Iloilo Coastal Resource Management Council with support from FAO. A number of microenterprises were introduced and supported in the municipalities of Banate Bay and Southern Iloilo including fish ball production, shrimp paste production, oyster and mussel culture, salt production and iodization, fish marketing and fish sauce production. Training programmes were conducted for fisherfolk on product development and marketing of their products. Good coordination with local government units, active participation of all stakeholders and conduct of appropriate training programmes are considered essential for the sustainability of the micro-enterprises. The involvement of fisherfolk in livelihood activities and micro-enterprises is strengthening their participation in the fisheries and aquatic resources management councils of Banate Bay and Southern Iloilo. The experiences of the pilot project also suggest that in order to make various income generating livelihood initiatives sustainable and stand on their own feet, many of these need to develop further into full-fledged micro-enterprises. Considerable scope lies in farming of aquatic organisms such as seaweed, shellfish and various fish species as well as in fisheries related value adding activities such as fish processing and marketing. As far as the relationship between the conservation of aquatic resources and the generation of income is concerned, the quality of the aquatic environment and the economic success of mariculture micro-enterprises and activities are directly related. This should create a strong motivation for fisherfolk enterpreneurs involved in such type of enterprises to be strong advocates and stewards of a healthy coastal ecology. In the long term, fisherfolk will benefit from the development of various micro-enterprise initiatives. It is clearly in their interest.