BUTUAN CITY, June 29, 2022 – Supplementing farmers’ management skills and linkage development through local government units were underscored during the Result-based Monitoring and Evaluation Rapid Appraisal (RBMERA) conducted by the Department of Agriculture- Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA- SAAD) in Caraga from June 13 to 24, 2022.

The national-led RBMERA sought to identify and recognize the challenges in the field implementation and provide solutions, involving focus group discussions (FGDs) with farmers and fisherfolk beneficiaries and meetings with Program staff as data-gathering methods.

The participants received projects under the agriculture sector which include native chicken, goat, cacao, and abaca production, and milkfish and tilapia production projects under the fishery sector.

Representatives from sixteen (16) farmers and fisherfolk associations (Table 1) from Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur who received various livelihood assistance from the DA and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-Caraga were tapped for the two-week monitoring aimed at uncovering points of improvement in the implementation process.

Table 1. Farmers and fisherfolk associations, RBMERA participants

The national team also reviewed the respective process flows of the regional and provincial offices and validated the data and farmers’ profiles submitted to the national office from 2019 to 2021. The recommendations include harmonizing the process flows of the region down to the province. With a consolidated flow, future job transitions will also be smoother.

The DA and BFAR-SAAD staff from national and provincial offices convened to discuss the results of the RBMERA during the exit conference on June 23 in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur where SAAD National Program and Monitoring Office (NPMO) Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (PME) Unit Head Darwin Pamatmat presented the outcomes of the two-week activity. Problems involving the lack of farm-to-market roads and successive typhoons that affected the production of the beneficiaries were among the issues that emerged.

The national team also presented their recommendations for the improvement of the field processes, which included capacitating the farmers and fisherfolk assisted by the program towards enterprise management, securing written agreements for land tenure, and identifying long-term markets for abaca and cacao products.

These recommendations will be closely monitored by the program until matters are addressed to fully equip staff and partner farmers. As SAAD Phase 1 concludes this year, securing the sustainability of livelihood projects through formal turnover to the local government units was also suggested.  ###

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