AGUSAN DEL SUR, June 11, 2020 – Members of Ocao Farmers’ Association from the municipality of Rosario received 30 bags of inbred rice seeds from the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program – CARAGA worth Php 45,600.00 as part of the total project cost of Php 875,800.00 for the Rice Production Project of 2020.

Together with his members, Rodel Rodrigo, chairman of the Manobo-led association, received the rice seeds turned-over by SAAD Area Coordinator Ariel Obillos, at Novele, Rosario, Agusan del Sur.

“Mapasalamaton mi nga naay gihatag [nga supply] ang DA `kay usa sad ni nga makatabang ma-lessen among gastos. Kung mupalit mi ani nga similya mahal baya, muabot og Php 1,500. Dako gyud ni’g tabang ang SAAD,” said Mr. Rodrigo.

(We are thankful that the DA through SAAD has provided us with rice seeds. This would have cost us Php 1,500.  With these free seeds, our production cost is lessened.)

In 2019, members of Ocao FA (27 IPs and 3 non-IPs) underwent technical training on rice production. With the training and agricultural inputs, the association will have the means to plant rice to cover 30 hectares in the next cropping season.

The supply of rice seeds and other agricultural inputs is part of the SAAD interventions that aim to establish agri-communal enterprises in areas with high poverty incidence in the region.

Rice production and livestock production are the main forces in the labor market in Agusan del Sur. As such, the intervention will eventually help address concerns on food production and poverty at the local level.

DA – Caraga, although slightly hampered by the CoViD-19 outbreak, continuously rolls out interventions to the SAAD recipients in Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur.

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