The Department of Agriculture has a national banner program called Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) which had been credited for lowering poverty incidence in 29 of the 30 provinces it covered since it was introduced in 2016.
The SAAD Program was first implemented in the mountain villages of Magpet, North Cotabato when I was Governor where development workers of the provincial government immersed with the village people giving them the opportunity of sharing their dreams and aspirations.
The SAAD Programs were demand-driven, people-initiated and area-specific with the planning process conducted right in the communities with the beneficiaries’ direct participation.
The development planning process in the SAAD Program was the antithesis to the institutional poverty alleviation programs of government designed by technocrats in air-conditioned rooms in Metro Manila.
While the DA-SAAD Website missed to point out that I was the author of the program, intentionally or unintentionally, I proudly claim that I personally designed and crafted SAAD, the concept of Poverty Alleviation Through Agricultural Production.
First implemented in North Cotabato, the SAAD Program was one of the factors which contributed to the reduction of poverty incidence in the province from 52% in 1998 to only 21% when I left office in 2007.
When President Rodrigo Duterte appointed me Agriculture Secretary, I briefed him on the SAAD Program and proposed the selection of 10 poorest provinces every year for six years or a total of 60 provinces.
The proposal was a P1-B budget per province to fund people-initiated agricultural production programs which would lower poverty incidence in the communities.
I called it a “One Time-Big Time” intervention to reduce poverty in the rural areas while boosting agricultural productivity.
Even with President Duterte’s backing, I was only able to get a P100-M per province allocation for the SAAD Program.
The response from both the local leaders and the beneficiaries was dramatic and each area submitted project proposals.
The Blaan tribal clans in Saranggani Provinde, for example, wanted to produce more of their heirloom rice varieties, farmers in the hinterlands of Zamboanga Peninsula ventured into egg production and those in the coastal areas went into Seaweeds production.
By 2019, before I resigned as Agriculture Secretary, Poverty Incidence Per Family in the 29 SAAD covered provinces showed remarkable decrease.
From a range of 40% to 60%, Siquijor PCIF was down 40.2%, Sorsogon 25.6%, Bukidnon 25.3%, Northern Samar 24.2%, Apayao 22.1%, Kalinga 21.3%, Samar 19.6%, Catanduanes 19.2%, Lanao del Norte 19.1%, and Misamis Occidental 17.3%.
The only beneficiary province where poverty incidence increased was Sulu at 75.3% in 2018 from 63.8% in 2015 and this was attributed to the unstable peace and order situation.
The SAAD Success Story is being shared as an option in the proposal to tweak the Cash Aid and Dole-Out Programs of government in the rural areas.
With a budget of only P1.1-B for 2023, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) acknowledged the DA-SAAD Program as one of the most effective Poverty Reduction Programs of government.
Imagine what could have been achieved had it been given the same budget as the Cash Aid and Dole-Out Programs which received a P205-B budget for 2023.
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!
(All images were downloaded from da.saad.gov.ph)
Better Than 4Ps! Cotabato-Designed Program Fights Poverty By Productivity
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21-Year-Old Cotabato Airport: Sad Story Of Childish Politics Twenty-one years after work on the Cotabato Rural Airport was started and 15 years after the Runway and Terminal Building construction were completed, it remains unused, a sad testament to the evils of petty and childish politics which had prevailed in North Cotabato. For people to truly understand this tragic narrative of a project which could have brought progress to the province, here is the historical account of the Mlang Airport Project: 1. I was a young Mayor of Mlang (1995-1998) when I envisioned the growth of my town into an agro-industrlialized city and thought an Airport would be critical in realizing that vision; 2. With the help of the Vice Mayor then, Luigi Buenaflor Cuerpo, whose family owned most of the areas in the former Hacienda de Tomas Buenaflor, I presented the idea to the elders of the clan and they loved the idea but since there were no funds available for the project, it remained just a dream; 3. In 1998, after one term as Mayor of Mlang, I was elected Governor of North Cotabato and I pursued the vision of building an airport in my hometown; 4. In 2003, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan authorized the purchase of 62 hectares of land in the former Hacienda Buenaflor for the purpose of building the airport; 5. With an initial P30-M Grant Fund which was provided by then Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sourced from the Department of Energy (which at the time, operated the Mt. Apo Geothermal Project), the project was started in 2004; 6. By 2007, my term as Governor ended and I was succeeded by Governor Jesus N. Sacdalan. I served as his Vice Governor. Gov. Sacdalan continued the project; 7. In 2009, the Runway and Terminal Building of the Mlang Airport were completed and Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo arrived for the blessing and inauguration; 8. In the 2010 elections, Gov. Sacdalan ran for Congress in the 1st District of the Province while I attempted to regain the Governorship but I lost to then Congresswoman Emmylou Taliño-Santos (now Mendoza); That was when work at the Airport was stopped and to justify the suspension of the Airport Development, the new administration claimed that the documents covering the purchase of the land were not perfect. I was accused of owning the land which was, of course, ridiculous and false. It was also claimed that the project was started without a Feasibility Study which again is a big lie, for how would it be given a budget if there was no study conducted. In fact, I made a public declaration that I was willing to help perfect the documents if they needed my signature on the alleged incomplete documents but my offer was ignored. In 2019, when former Congresswoman Nancy Catamco won as Governor, the alleged missing documents were recovered or reconstructed and perfected. That was when work was started again in the airport. Unfortunately, in 2022, Gov. Catamco lost in a tightly contested election to then Vice Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza before she could turn over the Airport Land Property which is owned by the Provincial Government to the Dept. of Transportation and the Civil Aeronautics Authority of the Philippines for it to be operational. The incumbent Governor is the Chairman of the Regional Development Council and she could have given utmost priority to the completion of Airport. Access to funds for the completion of the project would not be difficult because Speaker Martin Romualdez is the nephew-in-law of her husband, TUCP Partylist Congressman Raymond Mendoza. The real reason why the Mlang Airport Development has dragged for 21 years is because it is identified as the Brainchild and Pet Project of former Governor Manny Piñol and the current leadership dread the thought of seeing planes loaded with passengers and fruits from Cotabato to the big cities and the people giving credit to Piñol for initiating the project. The airport is for the people of North Cotabato now and the next generation and I would not care if she names it after her grandfather or whoever. This narrative is my account of the real story behind the delay in the completion of the Central Mindanao Airport which I know will be refuted by the other party. So, here is my challenge: Let’s hold a Public Debate/Forum on the real and true reasons behind the delay in the completion of the Central Mindanao Airport. I am willing to face anybody from their side in that debate, anytime and anywhere. The People of North Cotabato deserve to know the truth. #WeDontOwnGovernment! #TheTruthWillSetUsFree!
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