ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA, August 1, 2023 – Crossing the midyear implementation with a relatively positive fund utilization standing, the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program Phase 2 in Zamboanga Peninsula reported 55.87% obligation rate performance during regional FY 2023 midyear assessment.

During the Second Quarter Physical and Financial Assessment, SAAD ZamPen was able to obligate 55.87% or Php 32,204,071.09 out of Php 57,640,000.00 of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) funds for 2023 used for delivering agricultural livelihood interventions and services to 544 newly assisted farmers.

Physical accomplishment is at 95% with 19 out of 20 projects under the Rice, Corn, High-Value Crops, Livestock and Poultry Production delivered to 519 SAAD Phase 2 assisted beneficiaries from 20 municipalities in Zamboanga del Norte (ZDN), Zamboanga del Sur (ZDS), and Zamboanga Sibugay (ZSP). There are 20 specialized training conducted, benefiting 20 farmer groups with 544 group members.

The regional and provincial staff including the Agricultural Program Coordinating Officers (APCOs) of the three SAAD-covered provinces convened for the assessment led by Ms. Arleene P. Ordiz, SAAD Region 9 Operational Planning, Budget, Monitoring and Evaluation (OPBME) Lead. 

The assessment meeting disclosed physical and financial accomplishments of the program for the first six (6) months, as well as current progress on operation, including the status of SAAD beneficiaries’ database profiling. Further, the assembly reaffirmed the direction of the Regional Program Management Support Office (RPMSO) in the remaining months, keeping abreast of the regional targets.

DA-SAAD Region 9’s partial achievements were presented by Mr. Nadzmar Abdulhatip, SAAD RPMSO Food Production and Livelihood Unit Lead, reporting a 55.87% or Php 32,204,071.09 out of the Php 57,640,000.00 allocated budget for 2023 with a corresponding disbursement rate of 48% or Php 15,425,734.09 of the obligated funds reflecting a good financial performance and efficient budget utilization for the first semester of FY 2023. 

Other important issues and concerns relative to the procurement of the region were also tackled for service rendering improvement. For optimized delivery of assistance, the region practices cross-functional collaboration between the procurement, finance, operation, and other relevant units to avoid delays in document processes. Further, SAAD Region 9 continuously encourages feedback from stakeholders to identify areas for improvement.

Likewise, important topics including the strategies and action plans were discussed to address the concerns of the farmer-beneficiaries and offer technical guidance on the management of their projects. With this, Area Coordinators (AC) from all covered municipalities from the three (3) provinces shall reinforce regular conduct of coordination meetings with the beneficiaries during the monitoring activities. Internal feedback (within RPMSO) system was also reinforced for a more proactive field concerns’ resolution.

Entering the third quarter of the year 2023, DA-SAAD Region 9 will continue to deliver agriculture livelihood projects and take discussed monitoring and evaluation strategies to provide further assistance to newly assisted farmer-beneficiaries. ###

Writer: Ellaine Quiamco, DA SAAD 9 Regional Information Officer