BISLIG CITY, January 21, 2021—Department of Agriculture (DA) – Caraga Regional Executive Director (RED) Abel James I. Monteagudo visited the farmers of the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program, kicking off another year of implementation.

As the DA-SAAD Program enters its enterprise management phase this year, sustained visits and monitoring in the provinces of Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur are required to strengthen its link to its stakeholders.

“Partnerships among stakeholders are more attainable if we go to the ground and assess the situation therein. More than providing sustainable interventions, we, at the DA, aim to make connections with our partners and listen to their stories that will inform us of our future actions,” said RED Monteagudo.

Together with SAAD Caraga Deputy Focal Person Jekem D. Sanchez, RED Monteagudo met with the Goat Raisers Association of Sitio Sanyata (GRASS) and the Chicken Raisers Association of Burboanon (CRAB), recipients of the FY 2019 Goat and Chicken Production Projects at Barangay San Roque and Barangay Burbuanan, Bislig City. Both GRASS and CRAB are composed of 20 members.

As of January 2021, GRASS reported 13 goat stocks (10 does, two bucks, and a kid). While increasing their breeder stocks, GRASS sells their goats’ manure to earn additional income. CRAB, on the other hand, has yet to sell its poultry products. They only received their 180 chickens in December 2020.

This year, CRAB will receive poultry production materials and drugs and biologics worth Php 251,050.

DA SAAD Caraga in 2021

This year, capability-building activities which are designed to guide and equip the farmer-partners in their transition from subsistence to entrepreneurial farming are in the works. It includes entrepreneurial mind-setting and organizational communication.

The DA-SAAD Program allotted Php 58.3 million for its 2021 implementation in the Caraga Region; Php 33.8 million for food production and livelihood projects and Php 1.6 million for capability-building in the municipal and regional levels.

The program will no longer establish additional groups this year, but will continue supporting all 32 associations established in 2019 and 2020. Expanding of SAAD-funded production areas and increasing breeding stocks (multiplier farms) are among the priorities of the program this year as it gears for its entrepreneurial phase. ###

Writer:                Mark Angelo Pineda, Information Officer- DA-SAAD Caraga

Copy editor:       Natalianne Marie O. Delos Reyes, SAAD NPMO

Photos:               Fritz Bareng, Area Coordinator- DA-SAAD Caraga