PAA, DA-ATI Conjoin for the Inaugural Panglantaw Policy Forum
The Philippine Association of Agriculturists, Inc. (PAA) in partnership with the DA – Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) humbly initiated “Panglantaw: The 2024 PAA Policy Forum” with its inaugural offering last 29 January 2024 at the Serrano Hall, DA – ATI, Quezon City.
Through the Policy and Advocacy Committee led by Mr. Justin Paolo Interno, the pioneer forum was delivered in both online and face-to-face sessions attracting over a hundred participants to delve into the critical theme, “Paths to Institutionalizing the Magna Carta for Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs).” The forum underscored PAA’s mission to foster productive and dialogic collaborations to address various issues facing the agriculture sector.
The first Panglantaw stressed the challenges in the delivery of extension services for the Agri-Fisheries (AF) sector because services were devolved from the DA to the provincial and local government units since the passing of the Local Government Code of 1991. As such, low-income municipalities saw the challenge in the implementation of the said Code due to limitations in operational funds, lack of systems policy, and limited support for human capital.
To propose measures and address this concern, PAA National President Dr. Karen S. Bautista stressed the significance of this forum in advancing actionable policies through support in filing the Magna Carta for AEWs at the Congress and Senate. The said MC has gained widespread attention from various stakeholders but has long been struggling to find its niche in the country’s legislature since 2004.
Engr. Remelyn R. Recoter, Director IV at the DA – ATI, was invited to serve as discussant. In her talk, she highly recognized the role of more than 13,000 AEWs across the country in the development and promotion of the agriculture sector. She also urged the revision of the staffing structure and to create mandatory positions for agriculturists in the LGUs.
Also invited as reactants were: Ms. Rizalina T. Quiros, President of the League of Municipal Agricultural Officers, Municipal/City Agriculturists of the Philippines (LeMMCAP); Mr. Joshua Israel V. Sumague, Senior Development Management Officer at the Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Policy Division of the Department of Agriculture-Policy Research Service; and Dir. Julieta E. Opulencia, OIC Executive Director of the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF).
With AEWs playing an essential role in information-sharing, technology transfers, and teaching good agricultural practices to various clientele, the institutionalization of the Magna Carta for AEWs is paramount for ensuring their sustained impact to farming communities. Ms. Quiros appealed for the enactment of MC for AEWs, which Dir. Opulencia seconded mentioning that the lack of political will and competing priorities in the legislature has contributed to the delay of the passing of the Bill. Likewise, there is a need to benchmark the strategies used by other sectors that facilitated the enactment of other Magna Carta laws (i.e. Science and Technology Workers, Filipino Seafarers, Public School Teachers, Public Health Workers, etc).
On the other hand, Mr. Sumague raised the subject of the financial challenges of the Bill. He then suggested conducting technical discussions with the Department of Budget Management and LGUs to consult where the funding will be generated. Because the proposed MC offers a broad canvass on the coverage of the Bill, Dir. Opulencia further suggested revising the title to “Magna Carta for Agricultural Development Workers” for clarity and brevity.
The open forum (online and onsite) was moderated by former UPLB Professor on Agricultural Extension, Dr. Virginia R. Cardenas. To summarize the agreements and ways forward to institutionalize the MC for AEWs, Dr. Andrew D. Gasmen provided the synthesis.
The Panglantaw Policy Forum is available for viewing at the PAA Facebook Page at https://facebook.com/paa.org.ph.
