Evaluation of Esperanza Seaweeds Culture-Enterprise Federation: A Livelihood Project in Masbate, Philippines

The Seaweeds Culture is one of the livelihood initiatives extended by the FishCORAL Project funded by the United Nations-International Fund for Agricultural Development (UN-IFAD) with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to the fishing households in Barangay Rizal and Libertad, Esperanza, Masbate, Philippines. The study aimed to analyze the socioeconomic characteristics of household beneficiaries, identify the different types of livelihood assets, and evaluate the livelihood key performance of Esperanza Seaweeds Culture-Enterprise Federation. The study included the twenty-one beneficiaries, and data were treated based on cross-sectional quantitative data were gathered through focus group discussion and key informant interviews. It was found out that the household beneficiaries are mostly potential members of the labor force. The household income is insufficient, which translates to high poverty incidence. The income and expenditure approach as PSA's measure of poverty confirmed this. The primary livelihood assets are consumer durables, enterprise federation, credits as significant financial capital, and government transfers associated with buffering mechanisms to sustain the family needs. There is relevance and initial impact, which results in improved livelihood and some improvement in women empowerment. The claimed improvement in income could not be associated with project impact as the culture has just started. There are key challenges to the efficiency and sustainability of the project, especially from the end view of natural and anthropogenic disturbances. These significant risks are appropriately counteracted when the association does have a sustainability plan. The adaptive capacity of the association must be enhanced. Along these ends, the technical backstopping of BFAR, academe, and other agencies are very vital

Impact Assessment of Seaweeds Culture of the Inter-island Seaweeds Association in Cawayan-placer, Masbate

Part of the FishCORAL project is the roll out of the livelihood projects which would respond to the objective of reducing poverty incidence of fishing communities. One of these livelihood projects was inter-island seaweeds culture of Cawayan and Placer in Masbate. Descriptive research design and purposive sampling were used in the study. Structured survey-questionnaire was utilized and employed interview and focus group discussion as means of collecting information from the target respondents. Data revealed that the majority of the respondents’ dwell in a single house with five members and have a monthly income of P10,252.00 which is not enough to finance household expenditures due to a large number of dependents. They don’t have possession of the lot where their houses are situated. Many are challenged for sources of safe and affordable drinking water. Women empowerment in the area is fair, although disempowerment is high at 51%.  Seaweeds project in inter-island barangays does not have significant impacts on the lives of the beneficiaries because poverty incidence is higher than the set poverty threshold. Its effectiveness and efficiency could not be fully assessed although there are glaring pieces of evidence of the major challenges along with these criteria. Putting suitable intervention on the target coastal communities with close coordination on concerned agencies and proper monitoring of the project should be considered by the implementing agency to address the findings in this study. Insurance coverage is  recommended to alleviate impacts to the livelihood during inclement weather conditions. Capability development of livelihood beneficiary association along with financial literacy, basic business management, and record keeping shall be carried out

Effectiveness of Computer-Aided Instruction on Students’ Conceptual Understanding in Life Science

The study aimed to determine the effectiveness of computer-aided instruction (CAI) on students’ conceptual understanding in Life Science. The objectives of the study is to develop lesson plans with computer-aided instruction packages; assess the developed lesson plans in terms of congruency of objectives, learning experiences, assessment of learning outcomes, features of computer-aided instruction packages, and to determine the effect of CAI on students’ conceptual understanding. The study utilized the pre-experimental method. The study involved 27 students who took a Bioenergetics Achievement Test (B.A.T) before and after CAI. It was found out that developed daily lesson plans are excellent; congruency of lesson objectives (WM = 4.80), learning experiences (WM =4.76), assessment of learning outcomes (WM =4.79), and features of computer-aided instruction (WM =4.39). The test of the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores showed a significant result (t26=-14.30, p<0.01), and it was supported with the positive increase on the Learning Gain Score (LGS=3.18) which showed an increase in conceptual understanding and mastery in the learning competencies. Hence, there is sufficient evidence to show that the students’ scores improved significantly after being taught in computer-aided instruction. Therefore, the developed lesson plans with the integration of computer-aided instruction are excellently and effectively improved the students' conceptual understanding and mastery of the learning competencies

Impact Assessment of Aqua Silviculture of Milagros and Placer, Masbate

With the alarming poverty incidence among fisherfolks communities, the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) embarked a project dubbed as Fisheries, Coastal Resources and Livelihood (FishCORAL) funded by United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (UN-IFAD) to address the problem by providing livelihood project to the coastal areas of different regions in the country. To assess the impact of the said project in the Bicol region, Bicol University in collaboration with different State Colleges and Universities in the region conducted a project called impact assessment on different project of the FishCORAL livelihood projects. The aim of the study is to assess the key indicators of the project if the goals of the project was met with the implementation of the livelihood project. The study used convenience sampling in the field surveys and focus group discussions to draw conclusion wherein the respondents are the recipient of the aqua silviculture livelihood project. The study reveals that the beneficiaries is under big household category making them hard to financially sustain the basic needs of the family because there is large percentage of dependent individuals. It was also noted that they do not have their own lot where they built their houses and the source of drinking water is unprotected well.  In addition, the livelihood project is not sustainable because of various problems such as no profit from the first production cycle, most of the beneficiaries backed out during the implementation and the association itself is not technically prepared to implement the project to sustainable ends. Conduct of more technical capability training along varied aspects of aqua silviculture shall be caried out. Also, trainings on financial literacy, business management and basic record keeping are very necessary. There is also a need to craft a clearcut guideline and operational protocol to guide the aqua silviculture venture.  Maybe, a root cause analysis of the previous production cycle should be carried-out to highlight lessons and undertake corrective measures. The association must be reorganized, reoriented and retooled

Assessing Environmental Law Awareness Among Bachelor of Elementary Education Students: A Study on Knowledge and Attitudes

The study aimed to investigate the level of knowledge and attitudes towards environmental laws among Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEED) students. A quantitative research design was utilized, and the primary data-gathering tool was a survey questionnaire. The study discovered that the BEED students had a generally poor level of knowledge, but their attitudes toward environmental laws were positive. The outcomes showed that only a few students were concerned about the environment and supported environmental protection, and a majority of them did not practice positive behavior. Despite knowing the penalties for violating environmental laws in the Philippines and the procedures for reporting environmental violations, many students continued their bad practices. Only a small proportion of them exhibited positive behavior or practices that supported environmental protection. Therefore, the BEED students at DEBESMSCAT, Cawayan, Campus had an insufficient and incomplete understanding of the environmental laws in the Philippines. The findings of the study highlighted the need to enhance the environmental education curriculum in the BEED program to improve the student's knowledge and attitudes toward environmental laws. As the students' knowledge and attitudes towards environmental laws could significantly impact their behavior and practices, it was essential to strengthen their comprehension of environmental laws and their role in environmental protection. The study emphasized the responsibility of academic institutions in promoting environmental education among students to ensure that they became environmentally responsible citizens in the future

Assessment of environmental law awareness and pro-environmental behavior among DEBESMSCAT- Cawayan Campus Agriculture students

<p>Environment and natural resources were crucial to the existence of abiotic and biotic organisms, which included human beings. As the environment degraded, one of the key solutions was the next generation's perception, understanding, and attitude toward environmental laws. Thus, the paper studied the knowledge and attitude of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture students toward environmental laws in the Philippines. The study was conducted through a structured survey questionnaire and interview. The study revealed that students of the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture of the DEBESMSCAT-Cawayan Campus had poor knowledge and awareness of environmental laws. However, their attitude towards environmental law enforcement was considered essential. Additionally, students believed that the government was not effective in enforcing environmental laws in the country, their level of confidence in the government towards environmental law was low, and they perceived that most people were not aware of environmental laws. Lastly, community clean-up drives, tree planting, conservation of electricity, and everyone's responsibility were pro-environmental behaviors of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture students. Therefore, strict implementation and molding of agriculture students in their subjects were necessary to strengthen their attitude toward environmental laws. It was also vital to enhance their leadership skills to influence the community as they had positive behavior in the implementation of environmental laws.</p&gt

Women Empowerment in Selected Fisheries-Related Livelihoods In Asid Gulf, Masbate, Philippines

Women empowerment contributes to the coastal economy and dispositions to household income. This descriptive study aimed to establish women's empowerment and their roles in the overall performance of selected fisheries-related livelihood in coastal towns of Milagros, Cawayan, Placer, and Esperanza, Masbate. It was participated by 81 women beneficiaries. A structured survey questionnaire was utilized to collect information on the sociodemographic profile and adequacy level of empowerment aligned to WEAI-5DE. It was backed up with FGDs and KIIs. The data were treated through descriptive analysis techniques using frequencies and percentages. The respondents mainly belong to the reproductive age group (15-49 years old) and are married individuals (84%). They have resulted in the dismayed of occupation because respondents are mainly housewives. The present study reveals that women achieved an adequate level of control over using income and building relationships or groups within and outside the organization; hence, women are empowered. The study also focused on the need for women's empowerment along with agricultural production, access to and control of productive resources, leadership in the community, and time allocation. These gaps and impediments may be addressed when feasible vocational/TVET training programs are introduced to women, the establishment of collaboration among concerned government agencies to channel fishery products directly to the market, and the inclusion of gender sensitivity activities to lessen gender inequality in the fishery community