ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, October 10, 2020 – Cumulative sales of Php 810,630.00 was produced by three farmers’ associations (FA) through the assistance of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 9 –Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program in Zamboanga del Norte. The chickens were from the Broiler Chicken Raising Livelihood Project of the DA-SAAD Region 9 Program. The associations were one of the first recipients of the FY 2017 livelihood interventions in the province.

The San Juan FA in the municipality of Sergio Osmeña sold 3,552 kg of dressed chicken worth Php 408,480.00; De Venta Perla FA sold 1,694 kg of chicken (Php 194,800.00); and 1,803 kg of chicken (Php 207,350.00) from Canibungan FA in the municipality of Polanco. The chickens were sold to local store outlets and meat shops across neighboring municipalities.

“This is our third rollover of the project and one of our biggest earnings this year, even when we have CoViD threats. We thank the SAAD Program for the opportunity to be able to put up this kind of project for us. We faced some challenges during the implementation of this project, but this helped us a lot financially. We commit our best to maintain this project and give our time to make this successful for our association and our communities,” shared Maria Fe Mandaya, Auditor of the San Juan FA in Sergio Osmeña.

According to the SAAD area coordinator Catherine Aranton, these associations have been working and preparing for harvest when the CoViD pandemic hit the country, and the concerns of marketing their produce became a challenge for them.

“For our part, we assured to stay connected with the farmers through open communications via text message or calls during the pandemic. We want to make sure the associations have a source of income amid a crisis. We are grateful for the support and assistance that the LGUs of Sergio Osmeña and Polanco municipalities have provided. The LGU transportation services provided to them were able to bring their products from the farm directly to the marketplace and meat shops,” Aranton said.

These are only three farmer associations among many others in the province which have once again enjoyed the fruits of their labor, hard work, and commitment to sustain the livelihood project provided by the DA-SAAD. ###

Writer:              Aimee Lou Madjus, Information Officer- SAAD Region 9

Copy editor:     Natalianne Marie Delos Reyes, PR & Comms Officer- SAAD NPMO