Arms to Farms Inputs
Municipality of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte
Building a comprehensive community driven plan for peace and development
When Mayor Rommel C. Arnado was elected in May 2010, Kauswagan was still heavily affected by the Moro conflict. The first initiative that the administration made was to understand the causes at the root of the conflict in its community. A multisector technical working group was established and sent out to the remotest areas of the municipality to discuss directly with civilian and fighters. Additionally, several peace workshops were organized in conflict-affected areas. Arnado and his staff came to the conclusion that to achieve peace and stability it was necessary to address food security, poverty, hunger and inequalities. Through this bottom-up approach, a comprehensive community driven plan for peace and development called Sustainable Integrated Kauswagen Development and Peace Agenda (SIKAD-PA) was initiated, of which the From Arms to Farms Programme is a subcomponent.
The programme is based on a strong and broad participation of different actors. Peace-sensitive and performance-based plans and monitoring systems were set-up to ensure accountability and transparency. Financial management and tax collection reforms were also put in place.
The Arms to Farms programme shows that agroecology can be a powerful tool for radical and beneficial changes.