SAAD-NorMin set to earmark PhP43.4M agri-livelihood projects in 2025

 

The Department of Agriculture Special Area for Agricultural Development Program – Northern Mindanao (DA SAAD-NorMin) is poised to implement PhP43.4-million agricultural livelihood projects in 2025 to scale the start-up projects previously granted to smallholder farmers in 26 remote and low-income towns across the provinces of Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental and Camiguin.

Not less than 675 farmers who are members of 27 farmers’ associations (FAs) received the livelihood project grants from DA SAAD-NorMin in 2024.

Over PhP39-M worth of interventions were provided by the program to rollout various projects in the prior year, namely: 10 Enhanced High Value Crops Production, 7 Integrated Poultry and High Value Crops Production, 3 Integrated Corn and High Value Crops Production, 3 Integrated Livestock and High Value Crops Production, 2 Integrated Poultry, Corn, and High Value Crops Production, and 1 Balut Production project.

As part of the grant, the farmers were provided farm inputs such as corn, peanut and vegetable seeds, high value crops planting materials, fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide, garden tools, veterinary drugs and biologics, chicken feeds, farm machinery and equipment, goat, cattle, carabao, chicken and duck.

The farmers were also provided specialized training on agricultural commodity production, postproduction and good marketing practices to hone their agri-entrepreneurial skills.

To capacitate them in managing their projects, the farmers underwent SAAD’s social preparation activities for organizational development and strengthening, as well as self-awareness and management.

According to Mark Anthony D. Lagamon, head of DA SAAD-NorMin Operational Planning, Budget, Monitoring, and Evaluation (OPBME) Unit, for the third-year implementation of SAAD phase 2 in 2025, the program will focus on assisting the farmers in terms of product processing and marketing after boosting their productive capacity in the first two years.

The DA-SAAD Program is set on transforming the farmers from producers to entrepreneurs. As its end goal, the program aims to capacitate the farmers in establishing community-based agricultural enterprises out of the livelihood projects granted to their associations.# (ATT)