CARIGARA, Leyte - “Most of the time crafting a bankable project proposal is the most common problem of farm owners or associations in applying for funding support to some government and non-government organizations. So we are so grateful to ATI for spearheading this kind of training that helped us not just by merely crafting a project proposal but also to understand what are the important points we must input to encourage funding agencies to support our project.” narrated Fe Ifurong, a farm cooperator from Dulag, Leyte.
Indeed, accessing resources and sustaining the operations of both the organization and projects have been a dilemma for associations and private enterprising individuals. Project proposals are very important as financing institutions find it very helpful in ensuring that the scope and responsibilities of involved parties are clearly laid out. For ATI LSAs, SPAs, and ESPs, an extension support fund is prepared for them based on their priority improvement and enhancement plan. Thus, accessing such support involves the formulation, presentation, and defence of project proposals. That is why project proponents need to be capacitated on the preparation of project proposals.
On June 20-24, 2022, ATI-RTC 8 conducted a training on Project Proposal Preparation which aimed to capacitate ATI certified LSA, SPA, and ESPs on the preparation of viable and bankable project proposals. The training also equipped the participants on the knowledge of AMIA strategies as key elements in farming. Environmental scanning was also conducted as this is relevant in the conceptualization of projects.
“Learning is a never ending process, so we should not stop learning.” stated Luv Poliquit, a participant from Kananga, Leyte. Being someone who is not used to attending such gatherings or trainings, Luv realized that through attending this activity, there is indeed enjoyment and fun while learning. She also appreciated the opportunity to have shared and even gained ideas from different learning site staff or cooperators that she could use in her own farm. “Definitely an added bonus when attending trainings.” she said.
After lectures and discussions about project proposal making, its importance, and the essential elements of a proposal, the participants underwent a workshop on the preparation of a project proposal. They were then set for presentation and critiquing of their developed proposals and refined them based on the suggestions given by the panel.
Despite being new to ATI trainings, Anniver Pombo, a participant from Catbalogan City, was grateful for the resource persons who were patient in guiding them to craft not just a simple project proposal but a bankable one. “This training helped us understand more what a project proposal is and how to do it so that we could apply to other agencies and partners for funding support for our projects.” she added.
The 5-day training on Project Proposal Preparation was conducted at Kan dada Integrated Farm in Brgy. Tigbao, Carigara, Leyte. Twenty (20) participants from around the region attended the said training and were able to craft their own proposals by the end of the activity.
