DAVAO DE ORO, December 18, 2023 – To cap off its first year of Phase 2 implementation, the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Davao Region conducted a year-end assessment to assess and review the program’s implementation in the region.

The program’s Phase 2 saw an expansion in provinces served, in contrast with its Phase 1 where only one province was focused on. Four provinces with 14 municipalities benefitted from the program’s production projects this year. SAAD Davao Region production projects for 2023 included layer chicken, corn, and banana.

“We have 6 years for the SAAD Phase 2, and we are culminating our first year of implementation. This is also the time to prepare ourselves for the next year of operations. Through our review, we will be guided to where we were effective and where we were lacking, to better our implementation in our next years,” Alternate Assistant Naomi C. Lamata, said during her opening remarks for the activity.

SAAD Davao Region invited officers from its 14 farmer groups,  provincial and municipal agriculture and veterinary offices, as well as partners in implementation in select areas, including men in uniform. This was to streamline operational hitches and enrich the discussion in improving next year’s production projects.

2023 Agri-livelihood Projects

Fourteen (14) farmers associations (FAs), from 14 municipalities benefited from the program’s 14 production projects this year. 

All 14 FAs were distributed with the layer chicken project, which includes a package of 300 layer chickens with a cage module system, 90 sacks of feeds, veterinary drugs, egg trays, and egg weighing scales. As per the assessment, all FAs are now in their egg production stages, with income ranging from Php 30,000 – 70,000. The layer chicken project is the lone animal-based production project of SAAD Davao Region for 2023.

For its crop-based production projects, 12 FAs benefited from the corn project, which has a package of 24 bags of hybrid yellow corn, 108 bags of complete fertilizer, 36 bags of urea, and 50 packs of various vegetable seeds each. As of writing, most of the corn is in vegetative stage, with some farmers opting to sow seeds next year to coincide with the annual cycle of corn sowing in the region. 

Meanwhile, 2 FAs were given the banana project, with a package of 15,000 banana plantlets, 96 sacks of urea, 33 sacks diammonium phosphate, 36 sacks muriate of potash, 24 sacks ammonium sulfate, 15 bottles of various pesticides, and agricultural supplies consisting of blue drums and plastic crates. The bananas are in their vegetative stage.

2024 Ways Forward

All 14 FAs from this year will be supported by the program with the same projects next year with enhancements in the components as reviewed and advised from the assessment. 

Meanwhile, SAAD Davao Region added 14 more FAs (1 from each municipality) to receive separate and different production packages in 2024. 

“Daghan kaayong salamat sa atoang mga LGU counterparts, and the PLGU as well, kamo jud ang naay legwork sa atoang programa sa inyohang respective areas,” Ms. Lamata emphasized. 

(We are thankful for our LGU and PLGU counterparts, you did the legwork for our program in your respective areas.)

Writer: James Brian R. Flaga, DA-SAAD Davao Region Information Officer
Photog: Ronell B. Tangonan, DA-SAAD Davao Region Information Officer
Source: DA-SAAD Davao Region