The government’s anti-hunger program has yielded new job opportunities for nearly 1.4 million unemployed or underemployed poor folk, the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) announced recently.

NAPC Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban said the new jobs were created through the expansion of microfinance services, the construction and maintenance of farm infrastructure, coconut intercropping and aggressive rice seeds subsidy and skills training programs.

The figures were based on the 2008 accomplishment report of the Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program (AHMP) submitted by the National Nutrition Council to NAPC.

“The creation of jobs for hungry folk is among the primary objectives of the Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program (AHMP) and we are pleased to say that our efforts to ensure jobs for the poor have been successful,” Panganiban said.

Panganiban made the announcement even as government moves to strengthen its anti- poverty and anti-hunger programs in the face of the global economic meltdown.

“NAPC will lead a Forum on Hunger Mitigation, Population Management and Poverty Reduction at the Institute of Small Scale Industries in the University of Philippines’ Diliman campus this week to assess the government’s pro-poor and anti-hunger policies and targets for 2009. Key government officials, the basic sectors, and representatives from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN Population Fund will be in attendance,” Panganiban said.

“The intent of the forum is to build on our accomplishments in the fight against poverty and hunger, improve program policies and implementation structures, and ensure that all of President Arroyo’s pro-poor and anti-hunger targets for 2009 are met,” Panganiban added.

NAPC Assistant Secretary Dolores de Quiros Castillo meanwhile reported the government’s microfinance program had already created over a million new jobs for the poor as of July last year. “Another 292,372 poor folk were trained for higher paying jobs through the government’s various skills training programs,” she added.

Castillo said 38,507 rural workers meanwhile found new earning opportunities through the Coconut Intercropping Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA); 10,761 more workers were hired for irrigation projects; while another 26,326 Filipinos were put to work on roadside maintenance projects.