BOHOL, June 10, 2022 – In pursuit of strengthening local partnerships, the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program Director Myer G. Mula paid a courtesy visit to Buenavista, Bohol local government executives along with two DA offices reassuring continued support to Boholano farmers and fishers constituents.
On June 7, 2022, Director Mula, with representatives from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), met with Buenavista Municipal Mayor Atty. Dave Duallo, and the provincial and municipal DA and BFAR SAAD implementers at the Buenavista Municipal town hall. The meeting reaffirmed strong synergy between national and local agencies to continue the mission to uplift the lives of Boholano farmers and fisherfolk.
“SAAD has touched the lives of the farmers in the municipality. Social preparations have helped them in their farming activities. Happy ako na kasama ang municipality namin sa project site ng SAAD, ito ang project na down to grassroots ang na seserbisyuhan. We provided them with interventions, and services”, Municipal Agriculturist Lino Divinagracia shared during the meeting with Dir. Mula.
“SAAD made a good livelihood for the farmers. I am very happy. It has given a lot of benefits to the farmers,” shared Buenavista Mayor Atty. Dave Duallo on the impacts of the program to the farmers of the covered areas.
Dr. Mula shared the vision of seeing multiple and integrated agricultural livelihood activities for the marginalized farmers and fishers in one area as project convergence will not only expose the Boholanos to more streams of income, but also to many capacity enhancement and production support opportunities.
To address the high costs of fertilizers, the FPA intensifies local monitoring activities to educate the farmers on balanced fertilization strategies (BFS) for the interventions they receive. This monitoring also provides information regarding the market and economic position of the country that affects local fertilizer prices.
Aiding farmers and encouraging organic materials utilization for fertilization, the Program provided two units of corn dehusker to two farmers associations (FAs), Nakahugpong Mag-Uuma sa Cawag (40 members) and Puting Bato United SAAD Farmers Association (40 members) to help the corn farmers in the area to utilize residues of the corn. Dir. Mula calls for immediate provision of training on operations of the equipment they received. He also suggested that if farmers could sell corn seeds, it would be good if the municipality can buy or source these from the farmers.
The director visualizes crop farmers’ integration of tilapia and other fisheries activities, and fisherfolks into gardening and other agricultural engagements, then food sufficiency in the community can be addressed.
The meeting was attended by Agriculture Program Coordinating Officer (APCO)- Bohol Aurea Madrio, BFAR Provincial Fishery Officer-in-Charge Candido Samijon, BFAR Bohol Planning Officer Analiza Casquejo, FPA Planning Officer IV Atty. Errol John Ramos, FPA7 Provincial Officers, DA-SAAD Provincial Focal, Provincial Coordinator, Area Coordinators, and SAAD RPMSO staff. This demonstrates inter-agency coordination committed to the OneDA approach to provide agricultural services to farmers and fishers in the province. ###
Writer: Jessamae Gabon, SAAD NPMO Public Relations and Communications Unit Head
Source: Jolina Daño, SAAD Region 7 Information Officer 1
