The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is targeting to capacitate over 1.9 million fishers nationwide through a financial education simulation game called “Fish N’ LEarn”.
The game was developed under the BSP’s Financial Education (FinEd) Program for Fisherfolk, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Fish Right Program, and BDO Foundation.
Fish N’ LEarn simulates real-life events that influence the financial behavior of fishermen and their families. It aims to empower the agri-fisheries sector by reinforcing positive money habits and values among fisherfolk through a fun and interactive game.
BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno highlighted the important role of our fisherfolk, who serve as food security frontliners in the ongoing pandemic. “Fish N’ Learn is meant to give our fisherfolk the primacy that they deserve by focusing on improving their financial health and overall quality of life, which helps to foster a financially healthy citizenry. Strong public-private partnerships are instrumental to achieve sustainable and scalable programs such as this one,” Diokno said.
Fish N’ LEarn will form part of the regular training programs of DA-BFAR for fisherfolk. Embedded in the game are the important key messages on financial literacy and marine conservation, which are summarized into five Ms:
(1) Maging mapagkalinga sa karagatan (Nurture oceans and aquatic resources);
(2) Mag-impok ngayon para sa kinabukasan (Save for the future);
(3) Magpalago ng kita sa pamamagitan ng pagne-negosyo (Expand income sources by putting up a business);
(4) Mag-seguro para protektado (Get insurance for protection); and
(5) Maging matalino sa pag-utang (Use debt wisely).
The BSP, USAID-Fish Right, BDO Foundation successfully launched and turned over the Fish N’ LEarn game kits to DA-BFAR in May 2022 in celebration of the Farmers’ and Fisherfolk’s Month.
The game materials were distributed to DA-BFAR’s Regional Fisheries Training and Fisherfolk Coordination Divisions (RFTFCD) and its Provincial Fishery Offices (PFOs), as well as to select USAID-Fish Right civil society partner organizations.
The first batch of BFAR trainers underwent capacity-building Training of Trainers (TOT) in September 2021 to ensure proper cascading and roll out of Fish N’ LEarn to fisher-beneficiaries. Another round of TOTs will be held in 2022 to capacitate more regional trainers nationwide.
The BSP, DA-BFAR, USAID-Fish Right, and BDO Foundation signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for financial education last Feb 4, 2021.
