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Friday, September 19, 2008
Cordi agri exec refutes veggie seeds anomaly
By Jane Cadalig
BAGUIO CITY -- The regional office of the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) refuted reports of anomalies involving the P135-million vegetable seed for its regional offices.
DA-CAR Director Cesar Rodriguez said there was a lapse on how the Commission on Audit (COA) appreciated the documents submitted, which led to a misleading report.
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"The interpretation of the COA (of the data) is misleading," Rodriguez said referring to a recent COA report which raised questions on the validity of the seed distribution to farmers.
The seed and planting materials distribution to beneficiaries in the region is part of the Accelerate Hunger Mitigation Program of government, which is funded by the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) under the Programang Agrikultura Para sa Masa.
Rodriguez said the COA overlooked some of the factors which contributed to the flaws it reported.
In its report, COA doubted whether the seeds were really distributed to the beneficiaries claiming there were no lists identifying those who would be given the planting materials.
Rodriguez, however, said a master list of beneficiaries in the region was prepared, which was done on household basis.
There were 38,447 household beneficiaries in the region, identified by the DA in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other government agencies.
From the more than P135 million allotted for vegetable seeds, CAR was given P4.1 million.
Rodriguez said a total of P2,478,000 was spent for the procurement of seeds and planting materials which were given to beneficiaries.
In Mt. Province, Rodriguez said 7,000 households benefited from the program. The target was 6,953. In Kalinga, 9,563 households from the 7,000 target were given seeds, while 21,884 beneficiaries were served in Abra.
Rodriguez also denied the signatures of the beneficiaries were faked, as the COA reported.
"The master listing was done on household basis so that when we distributed the seeds, it was not necessary that the one listed was the one who signed," he said.
Also, some of the materials were done on mass distribution, particularly in areas where the President visited, like Bontoc in Mt. Province.
Rodriguez said the beneficiaries who were not able to attend the mass distribution were substituted by either their neighbors or relatives, and were assured the seeds would reach the intended recipient.
Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan said all the seeds were distributed to the intended beneficiaries in the province.
"In fairness to the DA, all the vegetable seeds were given to the farmers. We have been turning over these materials to beneficiaries in the province and I believe all listed recipients got the materials," he said.
As to the report on the failure of the seeds to germinate, Rodriguez explained some of the recipients did not plant the materials immediately, which rendered the seeds ineffective.
"The seeds we procured were subject to germination tests. What rendered these unproductive lied already on the beneficiary. We have found out some did not plant the seeds immediately and when seeds are not planted before the expiry date, the germination deteriorates," Rodriquez explained.
"These were the lapses beyond our control," he said.
The COA also said there was no report from the field units if the program was really effective in improving the quality of life of the beneficiaries. It said the regional offices of the DA failed to monitor and evaluate the distribution of seeds.
Rodriguez said monitoring the progress and impact of the program, which primarily focused on improving the income of farmers and improving the hunger situation and nutritional status in the region, is done jointly with the National Nutrition Council (NNC), the Department of Health (DOH) and other agencies.
NNC-CAR Regional Director Micaela Defiesta said the monitoring done at present focuses on the implementation of the program and not yet on the impact of these projects.
"I am not contesting the COA findings, but at this point, we could not come up with an impact assessment yet," she said.
Impact evaluation, she explained, needs time so agencies would be able to determine if there are improvements, say, on the nutritional status of the beneficiaries.
She said there were success stories in some areas where the program was implemented.
"But these are not enough to represent the whole region," she said.(Sun.Star Baguio/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (September 19, 2008 issue)
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