THE Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 11 (DSWD-Davao) is hosting a five-day national summit on Project Lawa at Binhi, its climate resilience program for farmers and fisherfolk, at The Ritz Hotel at Garden Oases in Davao City from Oct. 26 to 30, 2026.
Around 230 participants from the DSWD central office and field offices nationwide are attending the Project Lawa at Binhi Resilience Impact Summit, which aims to review the program’s accomplishments since 2023, share best practices, and strengthen collaboration, DSWD-Davao said in a statement on Monday, October 26, 2026.
Project Lawa (Local Adaptation to Water Access) builds and rehabilitates small water storage and rainwater-harvesting facilities, so communities have water for farms and households during dry spells, including El Niño.
Project Binhi (Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for the Impoverished), meanwhile, uses the stored water for community vegetable gardens and tree planting to help prevent food shortages.
Participating farmers, fisherfolk, and other vulnerable households receive cash-for-work and cash-for-training assistance in exchange for helping build the facilities and attending trainings.
Beyond reservoirs
Rainhart Arce, the program’s national focal person, said the program goes beyond building water reservoirs and communal gardens, aiming to give communities reliable access to water, enough food, and sustainable livelihoods so they can become self-reliant, even beyond government assistance.
Maria Isabel Lanada, director of the DSWD Disaster Response Management Bureau, urged program implementers to prepare communities before disasters strike to help prevent displacement and hunger.
“We are the duty-bearers, and the Filipino people are the rights-holders,” Lanada said.
She also stressed the need to strengthen agriculture, promote traditional farming practices, and revive Indigenous water-conservation methods.
Nationwide
As of Oct. 15, the program has established 2,775 Lawa sites nationwide, with a combined water storage capacity of about 2.49 million cubic meters, irrigating 10,390 hectares of farmland, according to its national accomplishment report for 2023 to 2026, presented by Arce at the summit.
Some 111,198 partner beneficiaries have received cash assistance totaling ₱1.04 billion for their
work and training under the program. BINHI gardens have also yielded harvests with an estimated gross market value of ₱84.15 million.
In Davao Region
DSWD 11 has served all 5,200 of its partner beneficiaries for 2026, the report showed. The regional office presented its digital monitoring and reporting system as one of the program’s best practices.
Arce’s presentation showed that DSWD 11 served all 5,200 of its partner beneficiaries in 2026. The regional office presented its digital monitoring and reporting system as one of the program’s best practices. GRS