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 Feb 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. Oñate, 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 said.

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)