SORSOGON CITY, June 07, 2022 – In the last leg of the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program Management Office Assessment in the Bicol Region, 12 Sorsogon provincial staff took part in the study held at Regional Dairy Production and Technology Center located at Brgy. Cabid-An, Sorsogon City on June 02, 2022.
The national team was led by National Deputy Director Ulysses Lustria Jr. together with SAAD Focal Person Abigail Dela Cruz, Special Concern Officer Ian Kevin Sevilla, and Admin and Procurement Head Jemaima Arro.
Primarily, the study implemented a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) participated by all the SAAD provincial staff to solicit information regarding their PMO structure and functions, and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) wherein two (2) managerial, two (2) technical, and two (2) administrative and procurement staff were selected and interviewed one-on-one by the NPMO staff. This activity aims to consolidate the data and assess the structures, functions, and experiences of the SAAD Sorsogon office in its program implementation.
With Pilar, Donsol, and Matnog, being the largest municipalities in the province, the office implements a buddy system, where upon accomplishment of a task, the staff lends a hand to accomplish other processes even beyond their scope of work. This camaraderie can be seen at the heart of the office’s implementation.
The implementers also highlight the team’s mantra on the field which is to usher the beneficiaries to useful networks such as the Municipal Agricultural Office (MAO) for market linkages. SAAD Sorsogon Provincial Coordinator Mary Rose Detera, emphasizes future-proofing efforts of the program for the farmers’ associations: “What will happen after the (farmers’) graduation? What can we offer?”
Driven by the mission to offer sustainable assistance to the beneficiaries, Sorsogon Agricultural Program Coordinating Officer (APCO) Florentino Ubalde Jr. considers the notion of creating a unit that will handle and specialize operations for linkages, entrepreneurship, and marketing if granted an additional management budget. APCO Ubalde also takes pride in the ability of the staff to reconfigure the system according to the needs of the situation and the associations.
For PC Detera, social capital is very important in the field implementation. By studying and knowing the socio-cultural system and history of a community, development programs and initiatives tend to be more effective through establishing a familiar ground with the communities, driving them to cooperate for its success.
Additionally, she said that the involvement of the local institutions such as the MAO, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), attached DA bureaus, and the local government and the implementer’s role to get their commitment in assisting the projects and the farmers are fundamental in the sustainability and success of the implementation. ###
Writers:
Pauline Trixia D. Borja, SAAD Sorsogon Information Officer
Jessamae Gabon, SAAD NPMO Information Officer
