ALBAY, December 8, 2023 – Officials and employees from the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Central and 15 Regional Program Management Support Offices (RPMSOs) convened for the FY 2023 performance review to provide insight into whether the program operations are on track to attaining integrity and efficiency in using funds from the national treasury, from December 4 to 8 at Gamboa’s Orchard, Malilipot, Albay.

During the opening of the activity which was hosted by DA-SAAD Bicol Region, Albay Assistant Provincial Agriculturist Daryl John O. Buenconsejo delivered the message of Governor Edcel G. Lagman which acknowledges how SAAD has helped the lives of the underrepresented communities in the region.

SAAD National Director Ulysses J. Lustria Jr’s message during the event highlighted the ultimate objective of the program which is to transform projects into community-based enterprises (CBEs).

“To highlight, ang SAAD program ay tungo sa pagpapalaki ng negosyo ng ating mga small scale farmers. Sabi nga ng ating Presidente Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., nung siya pa ay senador: ‘by focusing on poverty, we focus on the fundamental strength of this nation, and our greatest resource, our people’,” he reiterated.

(…the goal of the SAAD program is to help our small-scale farmers grow their businesses. As President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. said, when he was still a senator: ‘by focusing on poverty, we focus on the fundamental strength of this nation, and our greatest resource, our people’.)

Milestones, response mechanisms to emerging problems during the course of program implementation, status of project implementation, and the progress of accountabilities for each region and province were presented by the RPMSOs. After each presentation, the critiquing of reports came after – specifically on the regional physical and financial performance, the accomplishments of Information Technology and Database Development (IDD) Unit in terms of database profiling, and Public Relation and Development Communication (PRDC) Unit in terms of press release submission.

In its pilot year of program implementation, SAAD continues the diversification and integration of livelihoods such as crops, livestock, fisheries, postharvest-related projects, and value-adding based on the assessed needs of its beneficiaries considering feasibility results from the Beneficiary Needs Assessment (BNA) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). 

With its Php 725.40 million General Appropriations Act (GAA) for the farming sector, the Program’s overall **financial performance as of November 30 is at 87.96% (Php 638.044 million) obligation rate and 69.44% (Php 443.046 million) disbursement rate. These figures can be translated to 428 livelihood projects implemented by 467 group beneficiaries with 10,037 members; and 420 social preparation activities conducted to 1,261 individual beneficiaries and 483 group beneficiaries with 10,458 members.

Also thoroughly discussed in the assessment were the status and issues raised by the regional participants regarding press releases submission and uploading of farmers profile in the national database, which they committed to complete the remaining deliverables until December 30, 2023. For the PRDC Unit, the national and regional offices agreed to streamline its communication process to avoid delayed postings of important news and events in the field.

Within the process, areas of proficiency and areas for improvement were recognized, and feedback and relevant information were discussed. Overall, the assessment is a tool for yearly reflection and planning, and more essential ideas as part of effective actions to take on in the upcoming years of program operation. ###

***Financial performance data will be updated once final data from the Central Office will be released.

Writer: Jennifer A. Valcobero, DA-SAAD NPMO Information Officer