Mahintana, through the ProPEACE Programme, convened a two-day Livelihood Value Chain Workshop on September 16–17, 2025, at Dolores Farm Resort, South Cotabato. The activity brought together 33 participants from community organizations, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Mahintana staff. It was facilitated by Mr. Roel Ian Blanker, Project Manager of ProPEACE, as a cascading initiative of his learnings from the Food and Agribusiness Value Chain (FAVC) Course at Massey University, New Zealand, under the NZ Manaaki Scholarship. The workshop was supported by the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZ MFAT).
The workshop aimed to strengthen and sustain the livelihood projects established in 2024, which include chicken-raising, mushroom and vegetable production, as well as value-added products such as Tipas Muslim delicacy, mushroom kropek, Kagikit, bamboo poles, and dressed chicken.
Over the course of the sessions, participants gained a deeper understanding of the transformative potential of Value Chain Analysis. They explored the distinctions between supply and value chains, mapped consumers and cost structures, and identified gaps and opportunities for enterprise growth. Using participatory tools, they examined their inputs, outputs, and markets while also assessing the potential of alliances, cooperatives, and innovations to address challenges related to perishability, production instability, and limited market access.
The reflections were insightful and forward-looking. Many organizations, for the first time, became aware of their actual costs and profit margins, recognized unexplored market niches, and envisioned the formation of stronger cooperatives to respond to larger-scale demands. For the participants, the workshop proved to be a transformative experience—shifting their perspective from being mere producers and sellers to becoming strategic actors within a broader value chain that holds promise for sustainable growth, collective resilience, and long-term community development.
