COTABATO, September 15, 2022 – Upland rice farmers and vegetable growers from 10 farmers’ associations (FAs) in Cotabato received Php 282,240 worth of forage seeds and inorganic fertilizers from the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program to upscale their production capacity.

Distributed on September 8 and 9, the farm inputs are under the Integrated Upland Rice Production with Vegetable Production and Postharvest Equipment Support and Native Goat Production Projects of FY 2022 benefiting 110 farmers (Table 1).

The FAs will also undergo a series of training on livestock, vegetable, and rice production in the next quarter to effectively utilize the interventions provided by the program.

Dubbed as mini-DA, SAAD Program provides integrated agricultural livelihood inputs to farmer beneficiaries as a strategy to encourage continuous food production with inputs that can deliver commodities from fast-yielding, mid-term, and long-term yielding production. The program aims to provide these projects bearing in mind primarily the need to provide essential food supply to the marginalized farmers, and capacitate them to produce marketable surplus for income generation, and expand the projects to enterprise activities.

Native Goat Production 

Eight (8)  FAs from Alamada, Aleosan, Carmen, and Libungan municipalities received 4 packs of forage seeds per group in support of their native goat project. The said input is aimed at improving the existing natural pasture in their area suited to farmers’ needs for livestock production. A total consolidated area of 4 hectares (ha) per FA will be planted with forage crops.

Last April 2022, these FAs already received 88 native goats for individual members’ backyard production. 

 After 6 to 7 months, when the livestock reproduces, the offspring will then be transferred to the next-in-line beneficiaries through a roll-over scheme.

Integrated Upland Rice, Postharvest Machinery, Vegetable Production

Meanwhile, two (2) FAs from Alamada and Aleosan municipalities each received in advance 80 bags of inorganic fertilizers to improve their crop’s growth and grain yields. While waiting for the delivery of 40 bags of upland rice seeds, each FA prepares its 20ha consolidated production area.

With the anticipated high yield of upland rice through the program’s support, the members can secure their families’ consumption in the next months and share some of their harvests with their communities to also encourage them to plant. 

Under the said project, each of the two groups accepted a unit of rice mill and rice thresher last June and July 2022 to help them advance their production from subsistence to enterprising purposes.

The FAs are also set to receive pinakbet seeds, good for a 25 square meters backyard setting (per member) in the next quarter. Table 1. Inputs received by 10 Cotabato FAs

Mr. Pepito S. Nacario, president of Pagangan FA shared how grateful they are for being chosen as one of SAAD beneficiaries in Cotabato.

“Daghang salamat sa SAAD, dako ang natabang sa proyekto nila sa amoa, ilabi na sa sama nako nga pobre lamang nga mangunguma. Sa una, naglisod jud mi kay daghan ang mga kinahanglan paliton nga mga gamit para sa umahan. Unya karon nga nahimo ming beneficiary, ang SAAD naghatag sa amoa og maayong kaugmaon,” he said.

(Thank you SAAD, the project is a big help to us, especially for poor farmers like us. Before, it was very difficult for us because we need to buy farm inputs, but now that we became a beneficiary, SAAD secured us a good farming future.)

The distribution was facilitated by SAAD provincial staff, together with the representatives from five municipal agriculture offices, and agriculture technicians. ###

Writers:
Jennifer A. Valcobero, DA-SAAD NPMO Public Relations and Comms Officer
Aisa L. Tina, DA-SAAD 12 Information Officer