HISTORY OF ORGANIZATION
Sugbuanon Foundation for the Development of Rural Resources and Effective Area Management (SFDRREAM), Inc. started its operation in June 18, 2001 as an expression of CSR of Sugbuanon Rural Bank, Inc. (SRBI) and the Arcenas Group of Companies. The founder, Mr. Daniel Arcenas who is also the CEO of Sugbuanon Rural Bank, Inc. sees that businesses can play a powerful construct
ive role in the communities in which they operate and can be catalysts in alleviating poverty and bringing positive change in the country. Moreover, he believed that a sustainable development program in the countryside can hasten poverty alleviation process, and that there is no need to reinvent the wheel but instead, harness existing resources, programs and players, locally and nationally and mobilize all sector of society towards a fully-integrated approach in farming, encompassing productivity improvement in agriculture and non-agri-based livelihood activities as well as support in the areas of marketing and linkages with private and government sectors, institutional strengthening and capability building thus the birth of Sugbuanon Foundation DRREAM tasked to realize those visions. Hence, SFDRREAM is initiated to conceptualize, organize and implement programs that would affect positive change in the rural areas. On the same year that it was created, it also adapted Dr. Romulo Davide’s Farmer Scientist RDE Training Program to address the farmer’s profitability in their primary crop thus became the first and still up to the present the only private sector actively collaborating with the Local and Provincial Government of Cebu through the Department of Agriculture in the implementation of the Farmers- Scientist Training Program. SFDRREAM also seated as one of the member of the FSTP management and coordinating team tasked to oversee the implementation of the program in the whole province. From 2001 up to present SFDRREAM closely worked with the Local leaders in 6 municipalities of Cebu namely, Aloguinsan, Asturias, Balamban, Bantayan, Consolacion and Pinamungajan where it was assigned as area coordinator as per FSTP implementation is concerned for the implementation of such program and in initiating supplemental activities and projects which would boost the profitability of the primary crops of the farmers. Apart from a being a member of the FSTP management and coordinating team, SFDRREAM also actively performed its special function in the management committee as the marketing arm of the program tasked to assist the farmers in identifying and maintaining a database of buyers for various farm products. SFDRREAM also have given several projects aside from FSTP which left remarkable impacts to the lives of the people. Such project includes water project at Kantabugon Aloguinsan, Cebu, and Comprehensive Vegetable Production Project which was given to selected farmers from its 6 assisted municipalities. SFDRREAM has also been an active member of Kaabag – sa Sugbo - a network of NGOs in Cebu and the Associations of Foundations. Last April of 2007, SFDRREAM was one of the lucky organizations granted by PCNC with 3-year accreditation which expired just last April of this year.
