BUTUAN CITY, 24 February 2020 – The Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) is seeking to partner with the Global Partnership for Sustainable Solutions (GPSS) after the latter invited Director Myer Mula in the CARAGA Literacy and Agriculture Grant Training at the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Center in Agusan del Norte.

The GPSS’ initiative will provide training and other livelihood programs to IPs in Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur, who are the target beneficiaries of the GPSS’ project to become quality seed producers and later on establish seed nurseries in their communities.

Director Mula presented the overview of the program and how it may give assistance to the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) of the region. He said that the efforts made by the GPSS are relevant and timely as the SAAD Program needs all the support from partner agencies and organizations to uplift the living conditions of the Filipino people, especially the poor farmers from the ancestral domain areas.

About the event

The three-week long training was organized by GPSS and Global Action Platform (GAP), led by Managing Partner Bryan Thomas. GPSS/GAP aims to partner with agencies and organizations to train the IPs in Caraga to become the “new generation of farmers” who will lead their communities out of hunger and malnutrition. Food security and sustainability are their main concerns, which are also the goals of the SAAD Program.

Other partner agencies that attended the event were the Agricultural Training Institute, Bureau of Plant Industry, Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority, Rotary International District 2860, Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center, and CARAGA State University.

SAAD in CARAGA

SAAD program started its implementation in Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur in 2019 and will continue until 2022. For fiscal year 2019, there are 11 livelihood projects funded and implemented in CARAGA, benefiting 28 farmers’ associations with a total farmer members of 891. The projects were on abaca, cacao, rice, native goat, open-pollinated variety corn, camote and ube, and native chicken, with budget for livelihood totaling to Php 33.513 M as of December 2019.

For the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, nine (9) livelihood projects were implemented and completed involving 267 fisherfolks and 40 group beneficiaries with a total budget of Php 30 M by the regional operations as of December 2019. The projects’ interventions include fish boats and fishing gears as well as inputs for crab, bangus, lobster, seaweed & tilapia aquaculture production. ###

Writer: Natalianne Marie O. Delos Reyes