Mindanaotoday.com | SAAD equips 46 Dabawenyo FAs for entrepreneurship
By: James Brian Flaga
DAVAO DE ORO – Organizational management and leadership training were provided to the Department of Agriculture-Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program Region 11 group beneficiaries to jumpstart their community-based enterprising efforts.
The training benefitted 46 farmers’ associations (FAs) with 920 farmers from Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) and End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) areas in Davao de Oro.
For 2022, SAAD 11 provided 6 production projects, consisting of both crop- and animal-based livelihood interventions.
“SAAD strives to continue our additional income generators. To make sure that it will carry on and sustain our projects that we have, we need this capacity enhancement,” Naomi Lamata, Regional Focal Person for SAAD 11, said.
The event, entitled “Capacity Enhancement Entrepreneurial Development Training” cost RPMSO 11 P1.47 million (Batch 1- P473,600, Batch 2 – P454,400, Batch 3 – P550,400) for food, venue and accommodation of the farmer trainees. The farmers were trained for 3 days, in 3 successive batches done in a 3-week schedule.
“We will enhance the skills you already have so that your associations will prosper,” she added.
The province of Davao de Oro is the sole province covered for SAAD 11 in its Phase 1 of implementation.
For the next six years, the program will focus on four provinces of the region excluding Davao de Oro.
These provinces include Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, and Davao Occidental.
Led and facilitated by SAAD 11’s Livestock Officer, McKevin Mosquesa, the leadership training cultivated the participants’ values in correct leadership, its merits, and how it affects an organization.
“The application will be great to our association, so that…we could prosper not just as leaders, but considering our members as well,” William de los Reyes, Nuevo Iloco Farmers Association’s chairperson, one of the trainees, enthused.
“Here [in this training] we determined that decisions are not the leader’s responsibility alone, members should be consulted as well,” de los Reyes added.
The farmers’ association has already received their allotted projects this year – mallard ducks and OPV corn – alongside other 9 FAs in the province. (SAAD)
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