ILOILO CITY, January 23, 2024 – To strengthen effective collaboration among implementing units and tailor-fit the management’s process flow based on its dynamics, the Department of Agriculture-Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Western Visayas conducted a two-day strategic planning and target-setting with regional implementers and provincial counterparts in Aklan, Antique, Guimaras, and Negros Occidental on December 20-21, 2023. 

Part of the activity objectives is to craft program plans aligned to the beneficiary’s needs and formulate directions appropriate for the next implementing year. Such activity will further harmonize the FY 2024 process flow with the program’s logical framework and develop strategies to counter future risks.

Ms. Charmae F. Antipatia, SAAD Alternate Assistant Focal Person, spearheaded the activity and introduced the planning agenda which extends from the status of remaining deliverables and intervention-related commitments to the presentation of 2024 targets. She likewise reiterated the program’s updated implementing guidelines, detailing and reflecting the general recommendations and specific procedures governing the implementation of the program, to ensure an orderly and efficient administration.

Following this lead, a discussion on the updated 2024 organizational structure, current commitments and targets, and schedule of activities for the month of December were thoroughly discussed by Ms. Sheryl Mae Gaylan, SAAD Regional Operation, Planning, Budget, , Monitoring, and Evaluation (OPBME) Lead. In her discussion, she reviewed and scrutinized the status of procurement and the remaining interventions ready for delivery and distribution. 

Each implementing unit likewise revisited their targets in progress and remaining deliverables for completion within the year. Tasked to collect and upload beneficiaries’ profiles, the IT and Database Development (ITDD) Unit commits to re-profile all SAAD beneficiaries not yet uploaded in the system. Area Coordinators will be deployed in their respective areas to fasttrack the profiling activities. The Public Relations and Development Communications (PRDC) Unit, on the other hand, commits an additional five (5) press releases that must be produced and submitted before the year ends to catch up with the staple annual communication requirements.

As per Ms. Antipatia, every unit’s contribution forms part of the region’s accomplishments. She underlined the importance of strategic planning aligned with the program’s logical framework to deliver the program’s goals and objectives, effectively and efficiently, within the timeline. These considerations can shape how the implementation will push through and how well the units can function.

The plans for 2024, including action plans developed for each objective and contingency measure, would allow the implementing unit to evaluate its performance based on the given metrics and indicators, understand what needs changing, and calculate how much time it will take to accomplish one objective. ###

Writer: Cedie C. Bataga, DA-SAAD Western Visayas Information Officer
Photos by: Denmark Prayco, DA-SAAD Western Visayas ITDD Officer