The Department of Agriculture through the Climate Resilient Agriculture Office (CRAO) at the Central Office conducted monitoring and evaluation on the four (4) AMIA sites and two (2) BP2 sites in Ilocos Region.

A three-day activity conducted on October 11-13, 2022 in Bani, San Jacinto and Sison in Pangasinan; Badoc and Solsona in Ilocos Norte and San Emilio in the province of Ilocos Sur, the monitoring and evaluation was led by Ms. Perla Baltazar, Senior Technical Officer, Dr. MaryJane B. Alcedo, former AMIA Focal Person and Mr. Rae Michael Barbosa, Project Development Officer III of the CRA Office.

Aimed at assessing the status of these AMIA sites and to provide guidance on how to improve their farming systems and respond to some issues and concerns in the implementation of AMIA’s programs and projects, the monitoring and evaluation served as an avenue to showcase best practices of these AMIA sites which they have adopted and acquired from the various trainings and seminars they have attended to that immensely contributed to an improved yield and production.

Creating their own enterprises that indeed provided better income opportunities for the villagers, the evaluators commended the hard work and dedication that the officers and members have demonstrated making these AMIA projects and activities possible for the integration of the BP2 or Balik Probinsiya, Bagong Pag-asa Program.

Making use of the AMIA approaches in the existing and future BP2 projects, the CRAO will be establishing BP2 re-integration sites, thus ensuring an improved yield and income for both AMIA and BP2 beneficiaries amidst climate change.

During the monitoring, the DA awarded various interventions such as farm inputs and farm machinery and equipment worth 2.4 million for the two (2) farmer associations of San Jacinto, Pangasinan.

Meanwhile, in AMIA-Badoc, former Municipal Agriculturist, Ms. Leonara Escarda, a staunch supporter of the AMIAbles of Madupayas Farmers’ Association expressed gratitude to the DA for the opportunity to serve the villagers in Madupayas with the provision of livelihood projects as well as making them a diversified farmer and agri-entrepreneurs with the processing of peanut product like peanut butter and cultured mushroom turning them into fried chicharon mushroom.

With all these developments in the AMIA and BP2 projects, Ms. Maybelyn Libong, AMIA Focal Person and BP2 Alternate Focal Person together with Dean Mark Gacutan, AMIA Technical Staff and Jahnella Faith Bonilla, BP2 Staff who assisted the CRAO officials in the monitoring and evaluation encouraged the farmer-beneficiaries to stand-out from among other farmers in the region as they give inspiration to all those who wanted to venture in farming.###