PhilDHRRA was founded in 1978 after a loose group of NGO workers attended a Regional Workshop in 1974 held in Swangniwas, Thailand where the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas development strategy was molded. In 1983, PhilDHRRA with a small secretariat was officially registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and lately in June 18, 1984, PhilDHRR-Mindanao, along with its counterparts in other regions, was established.

Today, PhilDHRR continues to be a national network of social development organizations committed to the pursuit and realization of agrarian reform and rural development in the Philippines. In Mindanao, while promoting the network’s development agenda, PhilDHRRA collaborates with its 27 member-NGOs in the region.

While keeping abreast with the evolving issues of the rural poor and the tri-people nuances of a region plagues with peace and development concerns, PhilDHRRA-Mindanao’s development agenda eventually branched out to a variety of issues, reflecting holistic and integrated approach to rural development towards poverty alleviation.