Micro-enterprise is one of the Focused Community Assistance Schemes (FOCAS) under AusAid/PACAP in Agusan del Sur. Micro-Enterprise is province-wide programs purposely design to support a group of farmers and non-farmer producers in the province engaging to micro-enterprise development through collective management. Target beneficiaries should at least two years in existence and successfully managed initial projects with financial records of accomplishment.

Target beneficiaries are encouraged to initiate and engage into business enterprise with emphasis of providing more services and incentives to its membership and responding social concerns in general.

The province has a total population of 559,924 of which around 335,576.4 or 60% of the population are indigenous peoples composed of Manobos, Higaonons, Talaandigs and Banwaon. Farming households account for some 53,252 families whom are farmer owners, agricultural workers or tenants roughly to 72% (average family size is 7 members) of the province population.

Despite of its rich resources and potentials, poverty and malnutrition is severe and widespread. Majority of the community households hardly provide and respond to its basic needs because of low income incidence. As observed, engagement to poor economic activities is one of the factors that created the situation. Many of the rice farmers harvest only once a year with an average yield of two (2) tons per hectare. Many households heavily rely on the forest products for wood and logging, and some are engage in swidden farming. Presently, majority of the rural communities particularly the farmers are enslaved to never-ending debt from traders and uses caused by highly practiced of synthetic farming system that required high input cost. In some part of the province, there do exist household engaging to enterprising activities however, volumes of raw and ready-to-use materials are still untapped because most of the entrepreneurs/organization are organizationally weak and ineffective. Specifically poor and backward practices especially on technical expertise and technology affects its production and marketing strategy. Besides, some of the existing economic activities are extension to stereotyping activities, which generally affects to women sectors. The absence of advance facilities and equipment and skilled labor, limited market networks and access to information and introduction of new product designs and innovations are some concrete conditions of existing micro-enterprise in the province that tolerate traders and businessmen’s control over technological aspects.

Agricultural products are primarily source of raw and ready-to-use materials, however, the introduction of Green Revolution Program in agriculture caused ecological harm and environmental imbalance.

The existence of the community’s poor economic activities particularly on enterprising generally resulted to low economic income of the majority in the province, created less job opportunity and labor employment specifically to women. These conditions made them (the community) powerless particularly to women since they are the most vulnerable sector from multi-burden tasks-they primarily suffer providing and responding to its basic needs. As an effect, child labor incidence rate is increasing which directly affects the school population for numbers of pupil/student dropout rate and the incidence on less opportunity to formal education would increase. Besides, children are prone to illnesses and diseases due to increase in malnutrition rate. Increasing incidence rate of social problems and other social ills is commonly seen to adolescents and mature individuals.

In the same way, engagement to poor economic activity remains our raw and ready-to-use materials being untapped and undeveloped which is supposed to be potentials for livelihood towards economic sustainability.