EL SALVADOR CITY, Misamis Oriental – Last January 24, 2020, a contract signing between the Center and the enumerators for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Program took place. This was held at the Training Hall of Agricultural Training Institute-Regional Training Center X and was headed by Mr. Philip D. Villegas, Planning Officer II, together with Ms. Cheriemy D. Generol, Project Evaluation Officer I. Ms. Noemi Beth G. Macario, OIC-Assistant Center Director, also graced the occasion and gave a few words of wisdom to the enumerators.
Four enumerators were hired, namely: Ms. Krizha Mae Valdon. Ms. Ma. Janel Rabago, Ms. Jennyvieve Alimocon and Mr. Gerald Aguilar.
An orientation was given to the personnel so that they may be aware of what they would do in the field during the actual conduct of interview to the various inbred rice farmers and agricultural extension workers (AEWs) who were trained in rice. Furthermore, they were engulfed in the task by pre-testing the questionnaire. They were given the chance to practice the material with a few of the ATI employees. They were advised on how to use the questionnaire and how to approach the interviewee. Most importantly, they were briefed on the roles of the different government agencies – PhilRice, PhilMech, TESDA, LandBank of the Philippines, ATI-RTC X – in the RCEF Program.
The enumerators are set to start the interviews on Monday, January 27, 2020. Four Provinces will be covered, namely: Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental and Misamis Occidental.
The RCEF Baseline Study is part of the monitoring of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Program. An impact evaluation will be conducted after its three years (3) of implementation. In order to do this, a baseline is needed in order to know whether there is an improvement in the lives of the recipients or not and what are the shortcomings of the program.
Impact evaluations are vital since they not only measure the success of a certain program, but they may serve as basis for policy making in the future.