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Director Mula poses with the members of Barangay Sibsib Senior Citizen Association
The 993 Farmers Association in barangay Guiling shows a portion of their corn harvest to Director Mula.
Director Mula helps the RVGA members harvest their vegetables in barangay Rangayen
Director Mula visits the 1.2-hectare upland rice of Lower Teren Teren
Director Mula helps the RVGA members harvest their vegetables in barangay Rangayen
The 993 Farmers Association in barangay Guiling shows a portion of their corn harvest to Director Mula.
Director Mula poses with the members of Barangay Sibsib Senior Citizen Association
Director Mula visits the 1.2-hectare upland rice of Lower Teren Teren
Director Mula lead the turnover of Php 168,000 worth of corn sheller to 993 Farmers Association
Director Mula poses with the members of Barangay Sibsib Senior Citizen Association

SAAD National Director visits SAAD farmers in North Cotabato

NORTH COTABATO, August 3, 2021 – To determine whether the projects implemented are on track toward the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program’s goals, Director Myer Mula visited four associations in North Cotabato.

Some of the SAAD projects he monitored are the Chicken Layer Egg Production (Brgy Sibsib, Tulunan), Integrated Corn Production (Brgy Guiling, Alamada), Upland Rice Production (Brgy Dado, Alamada), and the Community Based Vegetable Production with food processing building (Brgy Rangayen, Alamada) (Table 1).

Table 1. Alamada Farmers’ SAAD interventions received

Barangay/Municipality

Association Members Project Title Intervention Received Project Cost Total Area
Rangayen, Tulunan Rangayen Vegetable Growers Association (RVGA) 25 FY 2017 downloaded fund: Community Based Vegetable Production 25g bell pepper seed  (58 cans), 100g tomato seeds (60 cans), 25g raddish seeds (58 cans), 25g lettuce seeds (59 cans), 100g chinese pechay seeds (59 cans), 50g carrot seeds (112 cans), plastic mulch (2 rolls), agricultural net (20 rolls), sprinkler/drip irrigation facilities (1 unit), 2L capacity with 100m PE pipe plastic tank (2 units), vegetable trading center (1 unit), pinakbet seeds (1,000 packs), and sinigang seeds (1,000 packs)           1,717,000 1.4 hectares
Guiling, Alamada 993 Farmers Association 25 FY 2021: Integrated Corn Production hybrid corn seeds GM  (50 bags), urea fertilizer (50 bags), complete fertilizer (50 bags), battery operated knapsack sprayer (5 units), 50g pinakbet seeds (110 packs), shovel (5 pcs), bolo (25 pcs), corn sheller (1 unit)               446,750  58 hectares
Dado, Alamada Teren Teren Farmers Association 50 FY 2021: Integrated Upland Rice Production with Livestock and Vegetable Production 40kg upland rice seeds (100 bags), urea fertilizer (100 bags), complete fertilizer (100 bags), battery operated knapsack sprayer (10 units), 50g pinakbet seeds (250 packs), shovel (50 pcs), bolo (50 pcs), hand trowel (50 pcs), upgraded doe  (25 heads), upgraded buck (2 heads)               405,000  74 hectares
Sibsib, Alamada Barangay Sibsib Senior Citizen Farmers Association 25 FY 2020: Layer Chicken Egg Production chicken layers (232 heads) and  layer feeds (8 bags)               117,764 250 square meters
Vegetable Production and Processing Project

The RVGA is a recipient of the Php 1.7 million worth of vegetables production project with food processing building under 2017 downloaded fund to Alamada local government unit (LGU).

The association received the vegetable inputs for their 9,700 square meters area in December 2017 and started to plant in 2018. They harvested some of their plants and earned a little but the onslaught of the CoVid-19 hindered them from going to their communal garden. The lockdown restrictions prevented them from looking after their crops.

This year, RVGA received the food processing building which will serve as the trading post of the group to house processed products like turmeric powder, ginger tea powder, and roselle wine.

To make up for their losses in 2019 and 2020, the group used their little income for buying vegetable seeds and planting them again.

Dir. Mula advised the 25 members of RVGA to do rotational organic farming. He also encouraged the farmers to keep track of their income and expenses records. He also suggested that the group should also try producing vermicast as organic fertilizer.

Chicken Layer Egg Production Project

Meanwhile, Dir. Mula inspected and evaluated the Barangay Sibsib Senior Citizen Association’s performance for the Chicken Layer Egg Production Project. He interviewed the officers and members on their layer of chicken egg production management.

Since the group received the chickens on March 28, 2021, they started to earn Php 11,000-13,000/month from selling eggs in April.

From May until July, they earned a gross amount of Php 36k/month. They can gather at least 210 pieces of eggs in a day and sell them at Php 120/tray for small sizes, Php 180/tray for medium, and Php 210/tray for large. As of July 2021, the group has a savings of Php 35,000.

“We want you to improve this project, we (DA-SAAD) and the regional SAAD team will provide additional assistance to complement your needs. Dagdagan natin ang mga ito kasi nakikita ko naman na pinapangalagaan nyu ang project na ito ng mabuti. Para din ma dagdagan ang production nyu sa itlog at para dumami pa ang benta niyo,” said Dir. Mula to the association.

(Let’s add more of this project because I see that you are taking good care of them. Also to increase your egg production and income.)

Upland Rice, Livestock and Vegetable Production Project

The Lower Teren Teren Farmer Association with 50 members welcomed Dir. Mula and the team. The association is a beneficiary of SAAD’s Upland Rice Production with Livestock and Vegetable Production Project under FY 2021.

Group president Monking Ismael Pasigan toured Dir. Mula in his 1.2-hectare upland rice area. Mr. Pasigan expects to harvest his upland rice this August.

SAAD Focal Person Maimona B. Amil then said that, “Pwede po natin bigyan ang kanilang association ng Carabao Sir (Dir Mula). Since nakita naming natin ma pursigido sila sa pagtatanim ng kanilang Upland Rice seeds. Para makatulong sa land preparation at pag haul ng mga harvested sacks galing sa bukid.

(We can give the association a carabao Sir since we saw how sincere they are in cultivating their land for the upland rice production. In that way, the carabao will help them during land preparation and hauling of rice harvests.)

As for the group’s livestock, it is still for distribution while for the vegetable, they will plant the seeds during the rainy season.

Corn Production Project

On the other hand, Dir. Mula also led the turnover of corn sheller worth Php 168,000 to 993 Farmers Association in support of their Integrated Corn Production Project. The machine will serve as a service provider to other farmers and nearby places to make farming more productive.

The livelihood project will allow the members to save money instead of paying for postharvest rentals. The group also expects to harvest this August.

In his site visit, Dir. Mula was grateful to the partners of SAAD, especially the local government unit and the beneficiaries.

“So itong mga additional interventions na ibibigay ng SAAD ay start-up para makatulong sa pangkabuhayan niyo. Siguro naman after five years yung mga tagpi-tagping bahay eh seminto na at baba na ang poverty incidence sa ating region. Marami pa kaming tulong na ipapamahagi sa inyo, ipagdasal natin na e-continue pa ang SAAD program up to 2026. Kung mangyayari yun marami pa tayong mga lugar na matutulungan,” Dir. Mula concluded.  

(These additional interventions that will be given by the program are start-ups to help you in your livelihood. Maybe after five years, the patchwork houses will be finished and cemented and the poverty incidence in your region will go down. We still have a lot of help to share with you, let’s pray that the SAAD program will continue up to 2026. If that happens we have many more places to help.) ###

 

Writers:

Jennifer Valcobero, SAAD NPMO Public Relation and Comms Officer
Mark Anthony C. Marfe, SAAD 12 IT-IO
Anisa Allyn Dilangalin, SAAD 12 Project Evaluation Officer

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