The “Enhancing Livelihood Opportunities in Conflict-Vulnerable Areas in Mindanao through the LIFE (Livelihood Improvement through Facilitated Extension) Model” Program, or PCAARRD-UP Mindanao-Landcare LIFE (PULL) Program, is implemented by the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UP Mindanao) in collaboration with the Landcare Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. (LFPI) and with funding from the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) for the duration of December 2017 to December 2020.

The LIFE Model is a result of the ACIAR Mindanao Agricultural Extension Project (AMAEP) with the aim to improve farmers’ livelihood and social capital in conflict-vulnerable areas through facilitated extension. Funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) with RMIT University as the commissioned agency, the AMAEP is implemented by the LFPI in partnership with the UP Mindanao and University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). DOST-PCAARRD has monitored the project since its beginning as well as providing support in promoting science and technology (S&T) interventions to farmers through field visits. In the course of their regular monitoring, the agency saw the substantial gains in improving farmers’ livelihood and social capital through the LIFE Model. Thus in 2017, DOST-PCAARRD funded the three-year PCAARRD-UP Mindanao-Landcare-LIFE (PULL) Program. Throughout its duration, the PULL Program is collaborating closely with AMAEP on the mentoring and training of field staff as well as a range of research and communication activities. In 2019, AMAEP was extended by ACIAR to facilitate this ongoing collaboration until the end of the PULL Program.

Currently, the Program has sites in Surallah, South Cotabato, Datu Abdullah Sangki and Ampatuan, Maguindanao, and Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay.