WESTERN VISAYAS, April 23, 2023 – The Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program Phase 2 kicked off its Capability Building Training (CBT) on leadership, organizational management, and values formation so beneficiaries identified after needs assessment can effectively manage livelihood projects to be implemented in priority areas across Western Visayas. 

Held in 26 batches, 780 members from 26 identified farmers’ associations (FAs) attended the on-site training from March 23 to April 3, 2023 in seven (7) municipalities across Iloilo, Guimaras, Antique, and Negros Occidental identified under SAAD Phase 2 implementation. Community extension specialists tapped to lead each batch of CBT used organizational management tools which covered theoretical concepts and actual application of learnings through varied group exercises.   

As for the CBT process in Iloilo and Guimaras, teams formed were composed of one (1) resource person and two (2) SAAD personnel serving as documenter and facilitator for each simultaneous batch. These teams were deployed in venues accessible to farmers such as barangay halls, covered courts/gyms, civic centers, and community chapel. In Negros Occidental and Antique, only one team was deployed with the same team composition as Iloilo, however, the setup was one batch per day considering the remoteness of venues and the availability of resource person.

Involved in the morning exercises were barangay officials and the assisting technician who took part in the preliminaries, and the resource person who led the discussion.  For every topic discussed, this was followed by breakout sessions to build participatory engagement and bond among attendees and allow them to brainstorm solutions and share skills. These series of activities were carried out for six hours and sharing or open forum was done towards the conclusion.

BNA as SAAD’s research tool

After the conduct of Beneficiary Needs Assessment (BNA) and profiling which determined the different agricultural and socio-cultural backgrounds of each FA, farmers can now begin their SAAD journey towards agri-enterprising.

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Results from the BNA studies show that the most common problem that the farmers face in all stages of production is the lack of monetary capital. This can be attributed to the limited sources of income, high cost of production necessities, and hauling expenses which cut off a huge chunk from their income.

The farmers further cited their need for knowledge-acquisition and capacity-building training to prepare them before the delivery of the livelihood interventions. This leads to the conduct of CBT that aims to expand their knowledge on leadership, hone their organizational management skills, and help them achieve the parameters of one’s values that would strengthen their bond as a group.

With the help of the local government units, identified FAs relatively matched the SAAD’s initially proposed projects with a few tweaking.

CBT in Negros Occidental and Antique

The resource person in Negros Occidental was Mr. Eliezar Villar, Project Development Officer from Regional Agricultural Engineering Division of DA Regional Field Office 6 while SAAD provincial implementer Ms. Dhovie Mae Brasileño spearheaded the CBT in Antique.  

Organizational, developmental, effective communication and fundamentals of leadership during the CBT training in Moises Padilla and La Castellana in Negros Occidental and Libertad in Antique were discussed. The participants actively engaged in role-playing activities, goal setting, and open forum fostering better communication among members and developing team cohesion.  

Most of the FAs in Negros Occidental and Antique are newly organized groups since acquiring Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) registration in 2022 through the assistance of the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO). Mr. Villar, thus, stressed the importance of strengthening organizations even if they operate on a small scale and are rudimentary from an organizational standpoint. 

“We made sure that our interactive capacity building activity is adapted to the existing skills, forms of management and social control of FA members, and to the local social context. Somehow, we are able to increase their awareness of collective action which is one of the essential conditions for ensuring that SAAD assistance can be successful and help strengthen their organizations in the long run,” said Mr. Villar. 

The training also became an avenue for members to express their feelings, to address and solve issues within the organization.

When asked about her vision for her group, Flordeliza Balayo, Acting Treasurer of Aripdip Farmers Association (AFA) in San Rafael attested, “Ang handom ko sa amon asosasyon ang mangin successful kami sa proyekto nga amon mabaton. Nalipay guid ako kay nadugangan man akon kinaalam sa pagdumala kang isa ka asosasyon bilang isa ka leader. Misan tigulang na ako, daw naunat man akon utok sa akon nahibaluan.”

(My dream for my association is for us to be successful in the project we are yet to receive. I am happy because I was able to acquire new knowledge on how to effectively manage my group as a leader. Even if I am old, I feel like my mind was challenged with the learnings I grasped.)

Mr. Rolando Gedamia, President of Kaisahan sang mga Mangunguma kag Mamumugon sa Brgy. Quintin said he was grateful that the activity was conducted in their community. 

“Masaligon ko nga daghan mig nakat-onan niini nga pagbansay sa SAAD. Makadahom kamo nga buhaton namo ang among best sa pagdumala sa mga proyekto sa panginabuhian nga makapauswag sa among kinabuhi dinhi (I am confident that we learned a lot from this training of SAAD. You can expect that we will do our best to manage the livelihood projects which can improve our lives here),” Gedamia said. 

CBT in Iloilo and Guimaras 

As part of the intensified and localized convergence of DA programs, Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation (F2C2) Program Business Development Officer Ms. Dia Corneja, Organizational Development Officer Mr. Nicole Macuja, Project Development Officer Mrs. Mary Anne Ogatis, and Project Development Officer Mary Elois Bagonoc led the series of simultaneous CBTs and served as resource speakers in SAAD areas of Iloilo and Guimaras.   

They introduced management and leadership frameworks tackling planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling within an association. They likewise stressed the importance of having a network of support, formulating strategic guidelines and policies, and acquiring the right leadership skills to manage their association.

“I am hoping we can strengthen these rural groups that are set to receive SAAD interventions in establishing their respective policy directions through their community leaders. We encouraged them to have common goals and guiding principles. With the SAAD’s livelihood projects, planning must be first on the list of things to do so they could ensure the success and sustainability of these interventions,” said  Ms. Bagonoc. 

To note, eight (8) remaining batches of CBT are to be conducted in the municipalities of Buruanga and Tangalan, Aklan on April 26-27, 2023 (Table 1).Table 1. SAAD’s CBT Schedule and Target Livelihood Projects in Western Visayas

SAAD Phase 2 Western Visayas 

This year, SAAD Region 6 received Php 39.7 million allocation from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2023 which will be used to procure livelihood inputs under each pipelined project for target beneficiaries. Of the 34 targeted livelihood interventions, 13 are livestock and poultry-related, 6 are corn-related and 15 are high-value crops-related projects. Enterprise building remains to be the peak goal of sustained livelihood projects provided to identified farmers’ associations (FAs) from 2023 to 2028. ###

Writers: Christ John B. Gamarcha and Cedie C. Bataga, DA-SAAD Region 6 Information Officers