BAGUIO CITY – “Kung hindi ako, sino? Kung hindi ngayon, kailan?” (“If not me, then who? If not now, then when?”).
These powerful questions encouraged personal reflection and strengthened the sense of purpose among the Field Operations Division (FOD) personnel of the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) during a two-day training on Community Organizing and Knowledge Management with Gender and Development (GAD), held on May 6-7, 2025, at the agency’s Old Conference Hall, in Guisad, Baguio City.
Organized by the Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture (AMIA) Program, the training aimed to enhance participants’ skills and knowledge to better serve the farmers.
“This training would help participants effectively serve farming communities,” said FOD Assistant Chief Dr. Leisley C. Deligen.
Ryan U. Palunan, Regional Agriculture and Fishery Council Chairperson and Cordillera’s Farmer-Director for May 2025, also underscored that the activity is meant to enhance their capabilities to effectively implement programs and interventions.
On the first day, Dr. Aida Y. Pagtan shared her expertise in Community Organizing and GAD. The session covered topics such as the essential steps in community organizing, hats of a community organizer, and the traits of effective leadership. Participants were engaged with various audio-visual presentations and questions, which sparked discussions among the participants.
Maria Imelda Izabel B. Zabala, for the next day, delved on Knowledge Management (KM) and its importance within organizations, highlighting knowledge creation, storage, and utilization. The topics enabled the participants to appreciate how effective knowledge management can improve performance in the office.
The training concluded with participants sharing their learnings. Some of the new learnings gained by the participants included the appropriate approaches and strategies in community organizing and knowledge management. “As community organizers, we need to know the community first and their culture, becoming sensitive and flexible in working with the community,” said one of the participants. By Michelle Balaan
