SARANGANI, December 11, 2019 — GoNegosyo extended its support to provide marketing assistance to SAAD beneficiaries in the Sarangani province through a joint initiative meeting held at Sarangani Provincial Capitol.
Present during the meeting were Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) National Program Director Myer Mula, the GoNegosyo represented by Senior Project Development Officer Jose Alvaro Severino Nito, and Sarangani Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon. Also in attendance are the SAAD NPMO Mindanao B Cluster Focal Persons Jemiema Arro and Jacquelyn Rebusit, SAAD regional and provincial staff as well as Sarangani Provincial Agriculturist and staff.
Sarangani is one of the covered provinces, identified under the 30 poorest provinces with the highest poverty incidence, which benefited a total of 4,250 individual farmers and a total of 21 farmer associations from seven municipalities (Alabel, Malapatan, Glan, Malungon, Maasim, Kiamba and Maitum). The interventions provided were the following; upland rice production, OPV corn, dairy goats, horses and free range chicken, fisheries and aquatic resources together with agri-inputs, tools, machinery, facilities and equipment.
Dir. Mula discussed the importance of GoNegosyo to the program, which can provide linkages to partner enterprises, business opportunities, entrepreneurship-related training programs, and funding sources. He also emphasized the SAAD enterprise goals for its farmer beneficiaries, which is the provision of linkages to different markets and shaping them to become successful entrepreneurs.
Governor Solon expressed his full support with the initiative. In fact, since the beginning of the program, he crafted five important principles for a successful and sustainable Upland Rice Production of the SAAD Program. Assistance and support in marketing of products is part of it. He also noted that Sarangani has a large and growing production volume which needs to capture domestic and international market. He promised that the provincial and municipal local government units will fully support the farmers and this enterprise.
In conclusion, SAAD, GoNegosyo, DA Regional Field Office, and the Provincial Government agreed to complement each other’s vision through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) towards a future agri-entrepreneurs of Sarangani farmers. ###
Writer: Jemiema Arro, SAAD Planning and Monitoring Officer
