NORTHERN SAMAR, March 17, 2022 – Interventions received by three (3) farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) from the Department of Agriculture- Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) aid farmers towards the goal of food sustainability in the province.
Mapanas is a 5th class, coastal municipality in Northern Samar with a 42.5 percent poverty incidence based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data in 2018. In 2021, DA-SAAD implemented three (3) projects with the aim of boosting agricultural production and livestock in the municipality.
The livelihood projects composed of rice, calamansi, and poultry inputs provided by the SAAD Program to the three registered FCAs are worth Php 2,369,737. The 20-member Manaybanay Farmers Association (MAFA), 21-member Siljagon Upland Farmers Association (SUFA), and 20-member Naparasan Little Farmers Association (NALFA) came from barangays Manaybanay, Siljagon, and Naparasan, all in Mapanas.
Table 1. Interventions received by FCAs
The interventions distributed were the most suitable for the associations as most of the members were already engaged in farming. The projects are targeted as they are seen to have the most potential to transition into community-based enterprises with a sure market because of the absence of competition among the community food producers.
The FCAs have also undergone several capability-building, technical, and specialized training sessions for specific projects they handled. The training conducted prepared the associations in managing their respective projects leading to a sustainable livelihood that will later provide them with additional income.
The projects implemented are currently in operation and starting to transform into community enterprises. Salted eggs from MAFA and fresh eggs from NALFA are sold in their respective localities, while the 0.5 hectare calamansi farm of SUFA is now bearing fruits.
Monitoring is regularly done by SAAD Northern Samar, with the help of the Municipal Agriculturist’s Office of Mapanas. The staff continues to assist the associations in their production and marketing activities.
The SAAD projects were realized amidst the pandemic, with the active support of the local government unit of Mapanas, the Municipal Agriculturist’s Office, and officials of each respective barangays.
Though this is the first time that the FCAs received livelihood interventions, they look forward to developing the projects to help each beneficiary and their families earn additional income, and become self-sufficient. ###
Writer: Edson G. Penasbo, Area Coordinator II, PPMSO–Northern Samar
