CEDAW/C/PHI/5-6 b. Agricultural Training Institute, which has conducted, from 1996 to 2000, some 10,674 courses on production and post-production technologies, food processing, entrepreneurship, cooperative development, and others. A total of 174,000 women, representing 40 percent of total trainees, participated in these courses. Extension services were provided to both women and men, and lately, there has been a deliberate move to involve more women. c. Agricultural credit through QUEDANCOR, provided to women who comprised 64 percent of borrowers. Of the total PhP4.78 million loan released, however, women’s share was only 36 percent. d. The Lending Windows of the agriculture department provided 56,000 women with credit assistance to finance women’s projects in the agri-fishery sector. Out of the P11.2 billion in loans released to the sector from 1996 to 2003, P2.7 billion has been allocated for women borrowers. e. A joint project of the department and NCRFW to mainstream gender in the implementation of the Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA). Included in AFMA were provisions that give women workers in the sector the opportunities to participate in the planning and implementation of agricultural programs and to equally benefit from these. At least 5 percent of the department budget is allocated for gender mainstreaming in the development programs. f. Integration of gender concerns in the data gathering tools of the Bureau of Post-harvest Research and Extension (BPRE) that influence the design parameters of post-harvest technologies. The bureau has developed and is continuously improving its gender-friendly processing equipment, such as mechanized cashew nut sheller and peeler. 519. The agriculture department has also been encouraging greater participation of women in agricultural policy making by involving them in the Agriculture and Fishery Councils in the regions (RAFC), provinces (PAFC), and municipalities (MAFC). As of June 30 2001, about 40 percent of women in RAFC, 30 percent in PAFC and 45 percent in MAFC participated in rural construction projects. 520. In each town or city, an agricultural technologist lends technical assistance to the Rural Improvement Club, a barangay-based women organization that serves as channel for developing women’s leadership and potential towards home and community improvement. As of December 2000, there were about 19,200 organized and functional clubs, with 480,000 members, nationwide. 521. The labor department runs a project called Promotion of Rural Employment through SelfEmployment Entrepreneurship Development (PRE-SEED), with components such as skills training with product enterprise development, accredited co-partners development and loan assistance to rural workers below the poverty line. From 1996 to 2000, the project has reportedly aided about 18,295 women. 140