WESTERN VISAYAS, November 6, 2024 – The Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program, through the Public Relations and Development Communication (PRDC) Unit, has distributed Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials to 36 farmers associations (FA) in the region as part of the program’s commitment to intensify communication campaigns and make available the technologies and inspiring stories among beneficiaries in the priority areas.

While the program provides project packages and start-up capital in the form of agricultural inputs to support their existing production, it also provides technical assistance through a series of training and capacity-building activities. These capability training serve as an avenue to empower our beneficiaries with needed skills and knowledge to improve their livelihood. With the distribution of IEC materials among local community leaders, the program can make sure that supplemental learnings will take place in their respective associations. 

Among the materials distributed were the SAAD Phase 2 brochure and technoguides on coffee, corn, calamansi, native chicken, banana, and vegetable. These materials were produced by the DA-Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Section (RAFIS) and the SAAD PRDC Unit in its advocacy efforts to raise awareness about SAAD’s objectives, achievements, and impact apace with the development of IEC materials that could facilitate knowledge transfer to the farmers at the grassroots level.

A total of 1,640 members are expected to utilize the educational materials that would further assist and engage them in all SAAD activities. Farmers- beginning or experienced- require ongoing education to stay aware of developments that affect their agricultural operations and the consumption of these materials would guide them in discovering new economic opportunities like value-addition.

RAFIS Chief James Earl Ogatis said that, “We need to localize the content of our IEC materials to make them client-friendly and understandable among SAAD beneficiaries. Likewise, diversification of our approaches and strategies using various social media platforms could reach our farmers faster in a convenient and economical way.”

The SAAD Program will continue to distribute these materials to the partner LGUs and beneficiaries, including the newly-released Promisa, the program’s official news magazine covering the activities of the program within the first half of the year. The distribution of the second issue of the same magazine will be pursued once production is completed in December.

With this initiative, the program hopes to contribute to creating a more informed and empowered farming community who can benefit from the technical and informative materials with topics that are relevant in their day-to-day operations. ###

Writer: Cedie C. Bataga, SAAD Western Visayas Information Officer