TAGAYTAY CITY, December 16, 2020 – The Department of Agriculture (DA) Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program served 23,534 farmers and fisherfolk during the FY 2020 program implementation in its 30 priority provinces.

The SAAD Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (PME) Unit reported that the regional and provincial units of the program continued its assistance to the marginalized farmers and fisherfolk despite the restrictions brought by the CoViD-19 pandemic, during the SAAD National Program Management Office (NPMO) Year-End Assessment from December 14 to 16.

As of December 11, 2020, SAAD delivered 88.08% (340 out of 386 projects) of the targeted agriculture-related livelihood projects to 14,456 farmers from 808 farmers groups; while 85.71% (132 out of 154 projects) of the targeted fisheries-related projects were provided to 9,078 fishers and 382 groups through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

The DA-SAAD obligated 84.23% (Php 787,907,400 out of Php 935,451,080 annual allocation) of its budget. However, only 41.12% (Php 324,022,790) of the obligation was disbursed due to late distribution of agri inputs and machinery, cancellation of delivery, and refocused projects.

On the other hand, BFAR-SAAD obligated 82.16% (Php 769.248 out of the Php 1,915,000 budget allocation) and disbursed 45.68% (Php 73,997,269) of its obligation.

All figures presented will increase as the delivery and implementation of the projects are still ongoing.

SAAD NPMO FY 2020 operations wrapped up

Headed by SAAD Director Myer G. Mula, the SAAD NPMO conducted the assessment to further strengthen the program implementation and improve the action plans of each unit for 2021.

BFAR-Central office, represented by Inland Fisheries and Aquatic Division Chief Elymi Ar-J Tuñacao (Focal) and Fisheries Planning and Economic Division Planning Officer Arnel Valenzuala (Alternate Focal), also joined the assessment via online/video conference and presented the accomplishment of the SAAD fisheries sector.

On top of ensuring coordination, consolidation, and assessment of reports with the SAAD regional and provincial implementers, the PME will produce additional supplemental guidelines for the program’s overall implementation in order to address issues and concerns encountered by the program.

These proposed guidelines shall be included as deliverables from the Social Preparation and Enterprise Establishment Assessment targeted to be implemented in 2021 by a partner SUC. In addition, the NPMO will publish a Social Preparation Guide Book by the first quarter of 2021 to further strengthen social preparation implementation in its covered areas.

For 2020, the SAAD Public Relations (PR) and Communications (Comms) Unit published 208 press releases, 15 newsletters, four magazines, 6 books, 12 videos, and 18 regional newsletters as of December 14. More publications are expected in 2021 with the SAADventures magazines and SAADvocacy newsletters still on track. Manuals, books, and compendiums of articles are also expected to be in the pipeline.

The unit also made a Strategic Communications Plan to guide national, regional, and provincial staff on the production of SAAD communication products and activities.

The SAAD Information Technology (IT) sub-unit will continue improving its database system as they address the issues concerning the submission of data from the regional and provincial SAAD project implementers through the inclusion of regional IT performance in their weekly reports.

The Administrative and Procurement Unit assured support to the preparation and execution of the NPMO activities. For 2020, the NPMO was able to obligate 88.54 % of its annual budget with 50.38% of the obligation being disbursed.

Further, BFAR-SAAD will provide guidelines for the establishment of fish hatcheries and grow-out sites through farmer associations to address limited sources of adequate and quality fingerlings.

Lastly, in order to augment the need for extensive information dissemination, BFAR-SAAD will be hiring regional information officers to help promote the SAAD implementation in the fishery sector. ###

Writer:                 Natalianne Marie O. Delos Reyes, PR and Comms Officer- SAAD NPMO