The League of Municipal and City Agriculturists of the Philippines (LeMCAP) members in Ilocos Norte, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, the Mariano Marcos State University, the DA-heads and directors of Agricultural Training Institute 1, DA- Regional Field Office 1, Provincial Veterinarian Office, Philippine Rice Research Institute in Batac (PhilRice-Batac), Ilocos Norte Research and Experiment Center (INREC), the chair of the Provincial Agriculture and Fisheries Council (PAFC), the lead persons of the Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines (CAMP), and other private sector and civil society organizations such as the young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) once again convened at the University Training Center this April 19-20 for the Project Consultation and Development Workshop of INAFES. Said activity is the second step of the implementing agencies and partners of the provincial-led extension model toward its full pilot come 2019.

Taking off from the issues, concerns, and opportunities presented during the consultation meeting last April 13, this project consultation and development workshop aims to present and discuss Ilocos Norte’s Agriculture Sector Strategic Plan 2018-2020, the current extension programs of major government agencies such as DA-ATI, DA-RFO 1, MMSU, and PhilRice-Batac, along with the establishment of a collaborative Ilocos Norte Agriculture and Fisheries Extension System (INAFES), discuss and assess the present state, issues, challenges, and opportunities of agriculture and fisheries extension in the province, and solicit recommendations in operationalizing INAFES. Group discussions and small group workshops will beef the two-day activity following the presentations on Ilocos Norte’s Strategic Plan 2018-2020 for the agriculture sector through the Provincial Agriculturist, Mrs. Norma Lagmay, the flagship programs of DA-RFO 1 in Ilocos Norte through Dir. Orlando Lorenzana, DA-ATI programs in Ilocos Norte through Dir. Rogelio Evangelista, PhilRice-Batac Development Projects through the Branch Director, Dr. Mary Ann Baradi, MMSU Agriculture and Fisheries Extension programs through the Director for Extension, Dr. Aris Reynold Cajigal, the issues, challenges, and opportunities of agriculture and fisheries extension (AFE) in the province through Engr. Ranison Narciso, the President of LeMCAP-Ilocos Norte Chapter, and the overview on the pilot of a collaborative INAFES through Dr. Rex Navarro and Dr. Santiago Obien of CAMP. The second day will be devoted to sharpening a project document towards the establishment of INAFES through small group workshop to include institutional arrangements, roles and responsibilities of partners, budgetary requirements, administrative and other logistical requirements. Outputs will be presented in a plenary for discussion and approval through consensus and will be presented to the Governor and Provincial Board of Ilocos Norte for approval.

Given extension as a core function of government agencies for a secure and sustainable Philippines, the INAFES, through the approval of CPAFES through DA Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, will be a central pilot province showcasing a model of strengthening research-extension-farmer-fisherfolk linkages in the province. Propelled by province-led inter-agency collaboration, the project will be pursued by sharing science-based knowledge and innovations with farming and fishing families, rural communities, and agricultural enterprises in Ilocos Norte.

Agricultural Extension and Its Needs

CPAFES’s existence materialized from the weakening and eventual devolution of agricultural extension to the local government units (LGUs) by the well-intentioned Local Government Code of 1991. It has truly allowed for more democratic participation and brought the arms of the government which will deliver the services to the people, however, inefficiencies in the delivery of extension services were encountered due to inadequate operational funds and lack of human resources of LGUs (Phil. Development Plan 2017-2022), thereby, slowing down the utilization of farm practices and technologies responsive to the needs of farmers and fisherfolks.

From the initial consultation with the LeMCAP-Ilocos Norte members, major issues pinpointed include (1) abolition of AEW positions and discrimination of the AEW profession, (2) filling up of AEW positions is not a priority of LGUs, (3) undermanned AFE personnel and multi-tasking of AEWs, (4) wide salary gap between supervisory and frontline AEW positions, (5) no ladderized positions for AEW, thus limiting career growth, (6) limited or no travelling allowance; no vehicles for monitoring; no hazard pay and insurance, (7) no buildings (working place) and dilapidated offices, and (8) limited capacity in agricultural development planning. With these issues, major challenges spelled in the discussion include (1) decreasing farm labour, (2) increasing cost of farm inputs due to the TRAIN law, (3) adverse effects of climate change on agriculture, (4) effects of industrialization and urbanization on farm size, and (5) diminishing animal draft population.

CPAFES, INAFES and Ilocos Norte

A bottom-up approach to harmonize AFE in the country, CPAFES is currently piloted to five provinces to include Eastern Samar, (Western) Samar, Northern Samar, and Agusan del Sur in consonance with Pres. Duterte’s priority for the rural poor in the least developed provinces, and Ilocos Norte as a tactical choice since the basic elements of a successful collaborative province-led extension model are essentially in place. 

CPAFES is an alternative model of an extension system where the Provincial Local Government Units (PLGUs) will lead the planning and implementation of agriculture development. It is geared towards an effective extension service through collaboration among agencies in the province such as State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), DA Regional Field Offices (DA-RFOs) 1, 8, and 10, Municipal and City Local Government Units (MCLGUs), Regional and Provincial Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Networks (RAFENs and PAFENs), Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD), Private Sector Organizations (PSOs), and Rural-Based Organizations (RBOs). It showcases a model of fortified research-extension-farmer-fisherfolk linkages in the provinces propelled by the flagship interventions/components to include partnership building, location-specific technology development and demonstration, capacity strengthening, information and knowledge sharing, and community mobilization.

As a strategic element in harmonizing the extension system in the country in the future, Ilocos Norte was chosen for the evident commitment of the Provincial Governor Imee Marcos who takes agriculture seriously (as according to Dr. Emil Javier, Chair of CAMP, “among all the Provincial Governors, Imee Marcos is the one we most frequently welcome in UP Los Baños always looking for innovations and new technologies her kababayans from Ilocos Norte could benefit from”), hardworking agriculture and fisheries officers in the persons of Mrs. Norma Lagmay, PA, and Mr. Lucrecio LAviar Jr., DA-RFO 1 Director, and the two CAMP members, Dr. Santiago R. Obien and Dr. Rex Navarro passionate in agriculture. Aside from these, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PLGU-IN) is in better position to plan and implement  collaborative AFE program because it has the economies of scale (not too small like municipalities or too large like the regions), can provide sustained annual budgets to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers and fisherfolk in the province in partnership with DA-ATI and DA-RFO 1, and is closer to the realities of Ilocano farmers and fisherfolk, hence, can better address their needs and problems.

As such, Ilocos Norte AFES will provide vigorous collaborative extension support to Ilocos Norte’s new Agriculture Sector Strategic Plan covering 2018-2020. Guided by the vision, ‘Productivity, profitability, and Sustainability’, the strategic plan’s major components include (1) soil and ecosystem, (2) irrigation system, (3) farm machineries and post-harvest facilities, (4) rural-based organizations, (5) provincial, municipal, and city administrative and financial manpower structures, (6) credit, insurance, and other financial resources, and (7) training and training needs. With this new strategic plan as roadmap, Ilocos Norte aspires to further elevate and sustain itself as a food secure and self-sufficient province with fortified resilience and adaptability in agriculture and fisheries through science-based innovations and supportive government policies through its laid approach and key methodologies to include partnership building and engagement, project development workshop, signing of MOA, establishment of Agriculture and Fisheries Center, mapping out of a collaborative Provincial Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Program, location-specific technology development and demonstration, capacity strengthening, information/knowledge sharing, social mobilization, institutional strengthening, and co-financing scheme of extension costs between the LGUs and the national government.

MMSU as S & T Hub

MMSU houses an array of new and improved agricultural and fisheries technologies and therefore can serve as to propel local programs for agricultural development. Generally, INAFES will harness MMSU’s strong technical expertise to hasten the sharing of domestic and globally competitive farm and fishery technologies and help generate employment in the province.

In partnership with PhilRice, MMSU will:

• Organize and deploy a dedicated core of subject matter specialists to the INAFEC with funding assistance from DA-RFO 1;
• Test, adapt, and package site-specific and climate resilient technologies in strategic locations of the Province in collaboration with appropriate national and international agencies (e.g., BFAR, BAI, PhilMEC, IRRI, CIMMYT, ICRISAT, AVRDC, WorldFish), farmers, and fisherfolk.
• Set up technology demonstration farms and conduct field days in municipalities of the province in collaboration with DA-ATI, DA-RFO 1, the private sector, and farmer organizations.
• Train farmers, LGU agricultural extension workers, and subject matter specialists in the province in collaboration with DA-ATI and develop, produce, and share knowledge products using the local language of the province in collaboration with DA-ATI; and
• Conduct project evaluation and action research on INAFES in collaboration with DA-ATI toward the end of the pilot period.

References:

Project Summary by DA-ATI RTC 1

Javier, E. (2018, March 10). A collaborative province-led agriculture and fisheries extension model. Manila Bulletin, retrieved from https://business.mb.com.ph/2018/03/10/a-collaborative-province-led-agriculture-and-fisheries-extension-model/

 ATI, CAMP to Push for CPAFES Establishment in Five Pilot Provinces. (2018, February 27). Retrieved from http://ati.da.gov.ph/ati-main/director/02272018-1854/ati-camp-push-cpafes-establishment-five-pilot-provinces

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