Agri-Fishery Development Technical Adviser for the Consulting Services for the “Technical Assistance to the Bangsamoro Agri-Enterprise Programme (BAEP)” in the Philippines

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is located on Mindanao, the second biggest island of the Philippines, and is home to about 23 million people, almost a quarter of the total population of the Philippines, and home to about a third of the Philippines’ poor.

Mindanao has a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, including Muslims, Christians, and indigenous peoples (IPs). Muslims make up 5-7% of the total population of the Philippines and approximately 21% of Mindanao's population. Mindanao development is hindered by two long-standing armed conflicts: (i) the communist insurgency that affects North and Central Mindanao and (ii) the ‘Moro’ insurgency in Mindanao, which dates to the early 1970s, and is one of Asia’s longest running rebel movements.

The BARMM is currently in transition as part of the implementation of a peace agreement signed by the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014. The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) inaugurated the BARMM and it endows the region with a degree of autonomy via a completely new governance system consisting of a new and well-functioning assembly reflective of the diversity of the Bangsamoro, a new form of Government with its own public administration along with an ‘independent, strictly merit-based civil service system, as well as a restructured multifaceted judicial system in religion and cultural rights, some fiscal control and greater control of its natural resources. Among the other key issues are the redefinition and management of new relationships with the state and local entities, as well as the development of an enabling environment for a flourishing civil society and private sector. The law installed the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority (BTA) until May 2025 when the first regional elections are due to take place.

As of 2021, the BARMM saw the economy grow by 7.5 percent in 2021, emerging as the second-fastest growing region among the 17 regions in the Philippines. Data on poverty incidence also shows a reduction from 55.9% of the population living below the poverty line in 2018 to 39.4 percent in 2021 (source PSA). However, the three island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi remain mostly under-developed and with persistently high poverty incidence and a key priority for the full execution of the peace agreement. Employment and income are rated as the top concern across all areas of the region. The lack of employment opportunities is also the reason why the region is a source of most migrating workers, most of them young, leave.

Objectives of the TA:

The specific objectives (Outcomes) are as follows:

Specific objective (Outcome) 1: Provision of technical assistance to support the production and commercialization objectives of BAEP:

• Production: Local agricultural production improved in quality, diversity, consolidation and its response both to the needs of the market and for people’s food security and good nutrition; and
• Commercialization: BARMM has an elaborate policy and strategy for further development and investment promotion in Agri-Business that is at the same time coherent with and reinforces the Government’s commitment to respect and promote human rights and while ensuring the inclusive development of human capital as core priority to reduce poverty and vulnerability).

Specific objective (Outcome) 2: Coordination of the BAEP component actions results in optimal achievement of collective outcomes at overall Programme level.