ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, February 23, 2024 – To ensure the smooth execution of the Marketing Assistance and Enterprise Development (MAED) component of the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program, the National Program Management Office (NPMO) cascaded the MAED guidelines to SAAD Zamboanga Peninsula implementers from January 30 to February 2, 2024. These guidelines served as a reference for regional and municipal implementers as they conducted benchmarking and market identification activities. 

In pursuit of the SAAD Program’s objective of establishing Community-based Enterprises (CBEs), the NPMO MAED sub-unit staff and focal person for ZamPen, Christine Joyce Velez, the NPMO Food Production and Livelihood (FPL) sub-unit staff Jonalyn Racelis, and the NPMO Information Technology and Database Management (IDD) unit staff Jerech Flauta, met with the Regional Program Management Support Office (RPMSO) staff to disseminate and explain the crafted MAED guidelines.

During the meeting, Velez provided a detailed explanation of the guidelines and taught RPMSO implementers how to use the templates and tools for conducting market-related activities. The templates included market identification, benchmarking, cash flow, among others. Flauta also discussed market mapping and the process of identifying the distance between the farm or product source and the market.

Following the entry conference, the pilot testing of market identification and benchmarking took place in Rizal, Zamboanga del Norte, with the NPMO team and RPMSO led by Engr. Nadzmar Abdulatip, MAED lead Reena Marie Clemente, MAED staff Benhar Abunawas, FPL sub-unit lead Shiela May Basaya, and area coordinator of Rizal Maria Liza Miral. The team visited the Sipaon Farmers’ Association and their Sweet Corn Production Project.

They went on to Rizal Public Market to identify possible market outlets for sweet corn and determine the quantity of the product they can cater. During the activity, they discovered that Rizal Public Market has a “tabo” where all the retailers from neighboring municipalities and provinces gather to sell various vegetables and other goods every Thursday of the week. This presents a potential avenue for the farmers to sell their sweet corn at the market.

The data collected during the activity served as the material used in the CBE profitability assessment, which included cost itemization, revenue projection, market projections, lease of market outlets, cash flow, and market mapping. The results were presented on the last day of the activity.

After the RPMSO MAED team was capacitated, they are scheduled to carry out the same activity in March to April this year, with assistance from other regional and municipal implementers. ###

Writer: Aimee Lou D. Madjus, SAAD ZamPen Information Officer