BONTOC, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE. The Provincial Local Government (PLGU) of Mountain Province is set to conduct various agriculture and fisheries extension services after receiving the 1.7 million Province-led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension System (PAFES) fund from the CAR PAFES RPMO on May 11, 2023 during a turnover ceremony at the MPAFEC in Caluttit, Bontoc, Mountain Province. These interventions were conceptualized through the Collaborative Provincial Agriculture and Fishery Extension Program (CPAFEP) which the PLGU and MLGUs of Mountain Province crafted in partnership with the RPMO, farmer groups, and other PAFES stakeholders. The CPAFEP contains the extension projects which the provinces will undertake for the development of the agriculture sector in the province along the value chain. Mountain Province listed 14 priority commodities (7 for crops, 6 for livestock and poultry, and 1 for fishery) in its CPAFEP.
DA-Regional Field Office-CAR (DA-RFO-CAR) Regional Executive Director Cameron P. Odsey lead the delegation from the CAR PAFES Regional Program Management Office (RPMO). Mr. Maximino R. Aromin Jr of the ATI-RTC-CAR, Ms. Lois June B. Fermin of BFAR-CAR, and Ms. Beverly T. Pekas of the DA-RFO-CAR APCO Mountain Province joined Director Odsey during the said event.
Meanwhile, Vice Governor Francis O. Tauli led the PLGU Mountain Province group. Mountain Province PAFES Provincial Management Group Chair and Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Rodelio B. Bagawi, personnel from the Provincial Agriculture Office, Provincial Veterinary Office, Municipal Agriculturists, members of the Sanguniang Panlalawigan, Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator Daniel Likigan and other concerned PLGU department heads, and personnel of the Mountain Province PLGU also joined the activity. Mountain Province is the first province in CAR which has officially launched its PAFES Center, the MPAFEC, with their PMG Chair as the PAFES Center In-Charge.
PAFES, as one of the key strategies under the consolidation pillar, will strengthen the collaboration between DA, local government units, academe, and the private sector. PAFES will be institutionalized to bring extension services to the grassroots level amid the challenges of devolution. With PAFES, the province serves as an extension hub that synchronizes agricultural plans and programs as well as orchestrates the activities of the various stakeholders. DA will co-plan, co-invest, co-implement, and co-monitor priority projects in the provinces, particularly as they embark on commodity specializations to maximize comparative advantage.
