Farmers in the upland Barangay of Agricula in the Municipality of San Remigio have been recipients of various support under the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) program of the Department of Agriculture which contributed to their sustainable livelihood.
The SAAD program is a six-year (2017 to 2022) locally-funded project of the DA intended to help alleviate poverty among the marginalized sectors on agriculture and fishery.
Ike Gregorio, president of the farmers’ association Samahan kang Mangunguma kag Mamumugon kang Agricula (SAMMAKA) in San Remigio, said their association has received carabaos, vegetable seeds, chicken layers, fertilizers, and farming tools as assistance from SAAD.
“Before the SAAD, farmers in our barangay would usually rent a carabao to till their lands. But with the SAAD implementation since 2019 until now there are already a total of 14 carabaos that had been given through our association,” he said in an interview on Wednesday.
Carabaos are given as a grant wherein recipient farmers of the association must give back the first and second suckling to the group so other members would also have a chance to breed the farm animals.
“As of now, we are still waiting for the carabaos to breed so that the member beneficiary could return their suckling,” he said.
Aside from the suckling, member-beneficiaries are also asked to contribute PHP1,000 each to buy additional carabaos.
The association also received more than 400 heads of layers and native chicken for backyard breeding.
“Each member is being given five heads of chicken layer or native chicken for which they are to return to the association 10 chicks that they will be producing,” Gregorio said.
He said the members are also allowed to sell the eggs or chicken provided that they give 30 percent of their income to their association, which will be used to buy their needed inputs to sustain their livelihood.
Meanwhile, Gregorio was awarded as one of the Top 6 SAAD Saga awardee in Western Visayas by SAAD national program director, Dr. Myer Mula, in Iloilo City on November 11.
Dovie Brasileno, the program’s assistant provincial coordinator, said in a separate interview that the SAAD Saga was held to recognize their exceptional partner-beneficiaries implementing the projects.
“From Antique, there were four winners for the SAAD Saga 2021 with two from Negros Occidental,” she said.
The other winners from Antique are Bugnay Irrigators’ Association, Inc. from Valderrama town, Ratanila Cluster Level Association, and Liberato Farmers’ Association from Laua-an.
The awardees will receive PHP75,000 worth of projects each based on their proposals submitted to SAAD for implementation hopefully next year.
On November 10-12, a trade fair was held at Robinson’s Mall in Iloilo City where the SAAD partner-beneficiaries showcased and sold their products. (PNA)
