Molding Young Basilan Entrepreneurs

The young members of the Diki Fisherfolk and Fish Processors Association in Barangay Diki, Malamawi Island, Basilan—all of them out-of-school youth who are children or relatives of former combatants of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)—attended a workshop on milkfish production and processing conducted by USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program in partnership with Save the Children (STC) Foundation and the association.The 27 young people were provided with training on the production of milkfish in cages, as well as on handling, processing and bottling technologies and monitoring systems. Under the oversight of the Mindanao Economic Development Council, the GEM Program continues to provide selected communities of former MNLF combatants with pre- and post-harvest facilities and training leading to more profitable agriculture and aquaculture production in the Sulu and Basilan areas. GEM