Mindanaotoday.com | DA, ATI-10 get a nod for PAFES in Camiguin
By: Azbie Talib
MAMBAJAO, CAMIGUIN – The Department of Agriculture-10 (DA-10) and the DA Agricultural Training Institute-10 (ATI-10) have been keen on their effort in promoting the adoption and implementation of the Province-led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Systems (PAFES), among the provincial governments (PLGUs) in Northern Mindanao.
Heads of the two government entities met with Camiguin Gov. Xavier Jesus Romualdo, at the province’s capitol for a meeting cum orientation on PAFES implementation held Friday, July 22.
As a way to mitigate the recently confirmed African Swine Fever (ASF) contagion in Mambajao, Camiguin, Romualdo is amenable to the implementation of the PAFES in the island province, focusing on ASF countermeasures as the PAFES test project.
After getting the PLGU’s commitment to PAFES, the DA-10 and ATI-10 are set to conduct consultation with concerned stakeholders and initiate rapid appraisal to identify priority agri-fishery extension programs in Camiguin.
The PLGU shall then sign a memorandum of agreement with identified government and private partners, and establish its own PAFES office to map out Collaborative Provincial Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Program (CPAFEP) appropriate to the province.
Institutionalization of the PAFES is seen to cushion the PLGUs’ assumption of the DA and its attached agencies and bureaus’ devolved functions following government decentralization in light of the Mandanas Ruling.
With PAFES, the province will serve as a hub in streamlining the implementation of agri-fishery extension programs and projects in priority localities through strengthened coordination and partnership with all instrumentalities of the DA, other government agencies, the academe, private sectors, and the LGUs.
Carlene Collado, DA-10 regional executive director, said the OneDA family fully supports the constitution of the PAFES in the five provinces of Northern Mindanao.
“With the PAFES we can strategically share the resources and expertise we have with the PLGUs. The resources can be easily cascaded down the grassroots level with a well-defined system. Notwithstanding the devolution, we will maintain our link with the PLGUs as far as agriculture is concerned,” he said.
The province of Bukidnon was piloted for the PAFES implementation in Northern Mindanao in 2021.
The DA-10 and ATI-10 have also undertaken similar efforts for the establishment of PAFES in the provinces of Misamis Oriental and Lanao del Norte.
The PAFES is among the key strategies of the DA in transforming Philippine agriculture, which aims to enhance the LGUs’ capacities in delivering strategic agri-fishery interventions. (AT | DA-10)
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