Initial multi-year plan for SAAD CAR implementation laid

Initial plans for the implementation of Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) were laid by various stakeholders on January 10-12 at the Gestdan Centrum, Bokawkan Road, Baguio City. This is a multi-year plan that covers plans from FY 2019-2022 and is now being finalized to set final activities and projects for implementation.

SAAD is a six-year locally funded project under the Department of Agriculture (DA) that focuses on the most marginalized agricultural and fishery sectors in the country. Implementation of the project already started in 2017 with Apayao, the first Cordillera province covered among the ten provinces nationwide.

In pursuance to its mandate to increase food production and poverty alleviation in the country, an expansion was made for FY 2019 through a memorandum signed by SAAD Project Director Bernadette F. San Juan dated November 27, 2017 adding additional ten provinces nationwide which include Kalinga and Mountain Province. SAAD is designed to cover additional ten provinces each year.

Thus, the planning exercise aims to draft a plan and budget proposal for the provinces responding to the identified priority needs of the target beneficiaries. Also, they are expected to identify the interventions and priority municipalities which really need to be reached out by the program. This was participated by LGU stakeholders from Apayao, Kalinga and Mountain Province with DA-CAR staff and Regional Technical Director for Operations Danilo P. Daguio, and participants from the National Program Management Office (NPMO) headed by Program Director Bernadette F. San Juan.

Director San Juan gave the overview of the SAAD Program. She emphasized the edge of SAAD to the banner programs of DA which is the aspect of social preparation. Compared to banner programs, SAAD applies a bottom-up approach with social mobilization. Through this approach, beneficiaries are given the opportunity to identify their priority interventions which they will then be assisted in preparing proposals for their identified projects.

The project aims to alleviate poverty of poor farmers and fisherfolks through providing agricultural and fishery livelihood-related projects to its target beneficiaries. To achieve this, agricultural activities for household consumption and agri-enterprises are employed as its strategies. Program interventions include technology transfer, environmental assessment, community organizing, capability building, enterprise development, provision of agri-inputs, agri-processing, and marketing assistance.

Furthermore, Director San Juan discussed that SAAD also caters to fishery-related projects that would be endorsed to BFAR; all credit/financing requirement to be coordinated to Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), Landbank, and credit facilities under Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF); and, all insurance requirements to be coordinated and endorsed to Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC). She added that project requests may come from organized farmer groups or other related groups duly registered at Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Local government Units (LGUs), non-organizations, and academic institutions implementing agri programs.

She reminded the participants the need to strategize with the stakeholders and to be vigilant in choosing the interventions because what the program’s need is impact to the community.

In conclusion, she stated that “Good planning will result to good implementation.”

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