OCCIDENTAL MINDORO, August 23, 2021 – Twenty-five (25) beneficiaries of the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program from Occidental Mindoro participated in the two-day Technical Training on Organizational Management.

The SAAD Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in partnership with the Magsaysay Local Government Unit (LGU) through the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) conducted the event from August 11 to 12.

The training participants are representatives from five SAAD associations in Magsaysay, namely: Sipag at Tiyaga: Wood Vinegar Farmers Association (STWV FA), Calawag Service Provider Association (CSPA), Unlad-Kita Laste Farmers Association (UKL FA), Calawag Mushroom Association (CMA), and Poultry Calawag Association (PCA).

SAAD Regional Technical Director Elmer T. Ferry welcomed the participants in the training, where they learned financial management, marketing strategies, and proper management of their associations which are rudiments of successful association operations.

DA Farms and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation Program (F2C2) Marketing Specialist Rustom M. Gonzaga discussed marketing strategies and encouraged the farmers to join hands with the youth in promoting their products online, taking advantage of their wide access to social media to broaden their market.

Mr. Gonzaga also demonstrated a SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis to help the participants structure strategies and plans to strengthen their associations.

Meanwhile, F2C2 Project Development Officer Ruben B. Pagirigan taught the participants about basic accounting and financial records. Pagirigan emphasized the importance of creating organized financial statements as it is one of the major requirements for receiving grants from the government and private organizations.

Lastly, Engr. Ferry shared the vital elements of a strong and successful association which include management capability, organizational strength and viability, and leadership effectiveness.

“Nagkakaisa at nagtutulungan ang miyembro ng aming samahan pero hindi pa rin maiiwasan na magkaroon ng mga problema. Pero mainam na nagkaroon ng ganitong pagsasanay para maipaliwanag sa amin bilang isang samahan ang dapat naming gawin para malapgpasan (ang mga pagsubok) at mapaunlad ang aming samahan,” said Linda Masangkay, chairperson of PCA.

[Members of our group are united and are working together but challenges are unavoidable. It is helpful that there is training such as this to know, as a group, what we need to do for us to overcome challenges and improve our association.]

Members of the associations were encouraged to turn their groups into cooperatives as it will bring opportunities and access to relevant assistance from the government, as well as tax exemptions (Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008). ###

 

Writer: Dianne Francis A. Sy, SAAD Information Officer I

Source: Vilmar J. Robes, SAAD Area Coordinator – Magsaysay, Maryleth Roxanne H. Gonzaga, SAAD Training Specialist I, Philippine Cooperative Act of 2018 (RA 9520, Article 61) source.gosupra.com/docs/statute/8086