ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, PHILIPPINES—Municipal-wide consultations in Sindangan and Siayan were held to determine the opportunities in line with strengthening the Department of Agriculture–Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) interventions for 2019-2022. The separate sessions were held in the Municipal Agriculturist Office (MAO) of Sindangan, and a training center in Siayan on February 13 and 19, 2018, respectively.

Team SAAD briefly discussed the Program’s objectives to its new partners and the mapping done of its 2017-2018 interventions. The SAAD Program interventions possibly suited for years 2019-2022 were also determined.

The new SAAD beneficiaries were also identified and oriented about the Program and are set for profiling and geotagging.

Sindangan and Siayan are two (2) of the current twenty-seven (27) covered municipalities in Zamboanga del Norte, one of the provinces catered by the SAAD Program in its onset in year 2017.

DA-SAAD is a brainchild project of DA Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol which aims to help increase the income of poor farmers coming from the poorest provinces of the country, as part of the thrusts of President Rodrigo Duterte to increase food production and reduce poverty in the Philippines.

Writer: Ela Arciaga, PR & Communications Officer