CARAGA, May 17, 2023 –  To strengthen appreciation for forming organization and improving group relations, Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program Phase 2 conducted Organizational Development training attended by 17 farmers’ associations (FAs) from nine (9) covered municipalities in Caraga region, ran from March to April this year. 

The one-day training course attended by 474 participants covers modules on (a) the foundations of farmers’ groups, (b) internal and external factors affecting group sustainability, and (c) strategies for conflict management.

To reaffirm the lessons to FAs, which are mostly start-ups, all three modules have corresponding workshops. Developing vision and mission statements (module 1) laid out the collective aspirations of members to serve as the basis for planning activities onward. The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Challenges Analysis (module 2) helped the FAs examine the internal and external factors that will likely affect their operations and initially plan interventions to address them, such as technical training and external support. The Roleplay of a Conflict (module 3) demonstrated to members how to approach conflicting situations within the group and suggested strategies that will result in positive resolution. 

Mr. Edmund Badilla, President of the California Farmers’ Association from Tagana-an, Surigao del Norte (SDN), said that the training aided them with insights into managing people, which he said is as important as livelihood-related training.

“Daghan mi og nahibalo-an ani nga training sama sa unsa ang pulos sa grupo sa mag-uuma ug unsaon pag sustentar dili lang sa project pero apil sad sa mga miyembro nga mas madasigon sila. Importante ni para sa amoa isip preparasyon bago mahatagan sa proyekto sa SAAD” (We learned a lot from this training, such as what the farmer’s group is all about and how to support not only the project but also the members who are more enthusiastic. This is important for us as a preparation before being awarded the SAAD project), expressed Mr. Badilla.

Program regional and provincial implementers served as resource persons for the series of training, after devising the course and undergoing training-of-trainers on community organizing in 2022 and organizational development in 2023. 

Table 1. List of SAAD Phase 2 FAs that completed Org Dev Training

SAAD Caraga Phase 2 assists 28 FAs from 14 priority municipalities from Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte, and Dinagat Islands. The conduct of the same training among the remaining 11 groups will be in May 2023.###

Writer: Mark Angelo C. Pineda, DA-SAAD Caraga Regional Information Officer