Butuan City, March 10, 2023 – In preparation with the full implementation of Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program Phase 2, the DA-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Caraga Region along with provincial and municipal implementers’ representatives gathered at Masao Aquaculture Training Center in Butuan City on March 9, 2023 for a one-day workshop on Beneficiary Needs Assessment (BNA) and I.T. Database Profiling for the targeted fishing communities in the region.
In his welcome remarks, Agusan del Norte Provincial Fishery Officer Rustico L. Ranoco shared how the activity will benefit the program. “We need to be trained with new tools because this is a sort of paradigm shift. The tools we used before in assessing the beneficiaries’ needs will no longer be efficient because a tool that is used for a long time becomes worn out and won’t be able to assess efficiently. The best thing now is that there is an adapted I.T. Database profiling to optimize the centralization of data compilation,” PFO Ranoco said.
Chief Aquaculturist Rizalinda L. Abing, who represented Regional Director Omnia B. Olama, graced the said workshop and extended her commendation to BFAR-SAAD Caraga implementers for the success of Phase 1 implementation as well as the holistic approach of the program from the central office down to the regional levels. She also expressed her full support and high hopes for the upcoming full operation of Phase 2.
“I commend the men and women behind the successful implementation of SAAD Phase I. Upon thorough observation, I have seen that the SAAD program applies the gaps learned from previous projects. The plan is in place, along with workshops, so if Phase 1 is successful, Phase 2 should be excellent, hopefully along with the newly adapted BNA and I.T. database tools,”Abing said.
Senior Aquaculturist and SAAD Regional Coordinator Edgardo P. Balambao kicked off the workshop by presenting the rationale. Balambao highlighted the role of the fisheries sector in the Department of Agriculture’s effort to help reduce poverty among marginalized farming and fishing communities. The BNA is designed to determine approaches and enhance planning for culturally relevant and community-suited fisheries livelihood initiatives. On the other hand, the I.T. database profiling is vital in information management, transforming to an improved database management system.
DA-BFAR SAAD Regional Planning Management Office (RPMO) and Provincial Planning Management Office (PPMO) came in full force to serve as resource persons for the said workshop. Information Technology Officer Arvin Sanoria gave a lecture on I.T. database profiling. Dinagat Islands Provincial Fishery Officer Bernard Baclayo presented the BNA introduction covering its tools and approaches, while Aquacultural Technologist Janice P. Jabay, from PFO-Surigao del Norte, introduced the BNA guide questions. Further, Aquaculturist II and Regional Alternate Coordinator Ivy C. Antoniano gave a lecture on press releases and communications. After the series of lectures, the training participants then performed the BNA simulation. SAAD Regional Coordinator Edgardo P. Balambao said that the workshop will serve as a guide in the implementation of the SAAD Program Phase 2 project, especially on the aspect of livelihood sub-projects identification. “I hope all the observations from the simulation, both positive and negative, will be an instrument for us to be effective implementers of the program in our respective provinces and municipalities,” Balambao added.