SULTAN KUDARAT—Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program National Program Management Office (NPMO) conducted an orientation meeting with Sultan Kudarat (SK) Governor Pax Mangudadatu held at Sultan Kudarat Provincial Capitol, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat on January 16, 2018.

Sultan Kudarat was chosen as one of the ten covered provinces of SAAD for the year 2018 due to its high poverty incidence rate per family, which is at 39.17%, based on the 2015 data of the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The NPMO was led by SAAD Program Director Bernadette San Juan, together with three (3) SAAD-NPMO Cluster Heads; Ulysses J. Lustria, Jr. for PR and Communications; Fe Ybañez for Operations, and Marvin Segovia for Information Technology. They were also joined by Provincial Agriculturist Estela Hallegado, Municipal Agriculturists, and DA-RFO XII staff.

Director San Juan briefed the participants on the SAAD Program. For his part, Governor Mangudadatu expressed the full support of the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Government to the SAAD Program.

The SAAD and the Provincial Government agreed to complement each other’s projects for the good of the people and future of SAAD’s farmer-beneficiaries in Sultan Kudarat. ###

Writer: Jemiema Arro, SAAD PR & Communications Officer