PAFES rolls
out in Caraga Region
BUTUAN CITY -- As the local government
units take the baton in agricultural extension functions, the Department of
Agriculture (DA) Caraga conducted a series of provincial briefings to fully
implement the Province-led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension System (PAFES)
in the region.
According to Edelmira Luminarias,
DA-Caraga PAFES focal person, the series of briefings with provincial
partners kicked off in Surigao del Norte on February 10, 2022, followed on
February 16 in Agusan del Sur, February 17 in Surigao del Sur, and February 24
in Dinagat Islands.
The meeting was attended by provincial
officials, Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) members, provincial agriculturists,
DA-partner agencies, academe, private sector representatives, and DA-Caraga
officials.
“We are grateful to our LGU partners
for the collaboration in serving the agricultural sector. Through PAFES, our
farmers will benefit more from a localized approach in assisting them,”
Regional Executive Director Engr. Ricardo M. OΓ±ate, Jr. said, as he graced the
said meetings.
PAFES is one of the key strategies in
the OneDA Reform Agenda in transforming Philippine agriculture to a modernized
and industrialized sector with the LGU at the forefront of the extension
services to the farmers in line with the implementation of the Mandanas-Garcia
ruling.
The Supreme Court affirmed the ruling
in 2018, giving the LGUs a just share on all national taxes collected and not
only from the Bureau of Internal Revenue effective 2022 to bankroll the
devolved functions including agriculture.
“Agriculture is local, agriculture is
provincial. Therefore, the LGUs are in a better position in identifying and
supplying extension services that would bring more progress to the countryside
and make the country food secure and resilient amid the challenges of
devolution,” Regional Technical Director (RTD) for Operations Rebecca Reyes
Atega said.
Under the scheme, DA will co-plan,
co-invest, co-implement, and co-monitor priority projects in the province as
they embark on commodity specialization to maximize comparative
advantage.
“PAFES will serve as the modality of
implementing banner programs wherein the DA will do the steering while the LGUs
will do the rowing,” Atega added.
Provincial Agriculturist Matt Valiente of
Agusan del Sur said that PAFES would be a paradigm shift and
revolutionary in pursuing the full devolution of agri-fishery services to the
local government units, as mandated in the Executive Order (EO) 138.
Signed
on June 1, 2021, EO 138 mandates the full devolution of certain functions of
the Executive Branch to local government units.
“It
is an opportunity for the Provincial LGU and its component Municipal and or
City LGUs to mainstream the implementation of locally initiated and funded
agri- fishery programs and projects thru integration, harmonization, and
consolidation of the existing agri-fishery programs of the DA with its attached
agencies and other stakeholders, and augmentation of the LGUs financial and
human resource capability,” he said.
“It
would be more helpful to benchmark the initial result or impact of PAFES
implementation in the piloted provinces such as Ilocos and Agusan del Norte,
among others, and replicate the good practices which are applicable and
appropriate in our locality,” he added.
Earlier, Caraga State University (CSU)
presented the Rapid Appraisal final output concerning PAFES implementation.
The Rapid Appraisal is being crafted by
CSU in partnership with Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI) and the
Regional Technical Working Group to assess and determine the readiness of the
LGUs of Agusan del Norte as the pilot province of the PAFES implementation.
Rapid Appraisal will also be conducted
to the rest of the provinces in the region. (Aurelius P.
Arais/DA-Caraga with Photo credit: RTD Rebecca R. Atega, Edelmira Luminarias
and APCO-SDS/PIA-Caraga)
