Press Release
October 7, 2009

LOREN URGES PASSAGE OF EXTENSION BILL, FARMERS
AND FISHERFOLK NEED TO BE HELPED TO ACCESS CREDIT

Senator Loren Legarda, chairperson of three committees in the Senate with strong powers to reform agriculture and fishery towards the country's food security, sustainable agriculture and fisheries and poverty alleviation in the countryside appeals to her co-legislators to support the passage of the National Agriculture Extension Bill or Senate Bill 3100. She said that we have to prepare farmers and fisherfolk as the effects of calamities that devastated farms and fishfarms in the country will be felt especially in the first semester of next year.

The senator said that the Department of Budget and Management released PhP4..48 billion to accredited financing institutions such as rural banks and cooperative banks in 2008 to guarantee loans that would be made by farmers and fisherfolk. The fund is barely touched with only 18.7% or PhP842 million worth of loans have been approved so far. "Why is there unutilized guarantee fund? Because our farmers and fisherfolk do not know that there is a credit facility like this. The Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997 or AFMA provided for this facility but the problem is that they have to be helped accomplish feasibility studies, undertake profitable production projects and a disciplined program of repaying their loans. This is the reason why I want to pass the National Agriculture Extension Bill. We want to mobilize local government extension workers who are constrained by lack of funds for agriculture activities and in many cases lack of appreciation by local chief executives of the promise of agriculture and fishery in the development of their localities."

Loren, who is also chairperson of the Senate Oversight Committee on Climate Change said "We have to look for available resources to meet the crisis these days rather than pass extra calamity fund budget bill. Even as the National Agriculture Extension Bill is not yet passed, we appeal to our local chief executives to send their agricultural extension workers to assist farmers and fisherfolk. We also appeal to state universities and colleges with agriculture and fisheries extension programs to make it their mission in these times of crisis to help farmers and fisherfolk go to rural banks and microfinance institutions and prepare project feasibility studies and other requirements. Add this assistance to your relief bags."

In agreement with Legarda, Representative Abraham Mitra, the co-chairperson of Senator Legarda in the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM), said "Let us put more resources coming from the national government to provide the financial requirements for the implementation of the proposed extension law. Our farmers and fisherfolk need assistance from qualified technical personnel and extension workers who could provide them guidance in agriculture production, accessing credit, trade, processing, including crop and animal protection and other farm activities," Mitra said.

According to Mitra, one of the important features of the extension bill which is still being deliberated in Congress is the strengthening of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) which would be transformed into Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Agency (PAFEA). This agency will serve as the national apex organization for a unified and efficient agriculture and fisheries extension system in the country.

Another important provision of the proposed law is the standardization of the salaries and wages of technical extension personnel which shall be disbursed by the government through an annual grant-in-aid to be paid out of the regular appropriation of the PAFEA.

As mandated in the proposed extension law, the PAFEA shall coordinate all government extension programs in agriculture and fisheries. It will provide direction in the development of national extension policies in agriculture and fisheries.

The PAFEA will also orchestrate the development of extension strategic plan including its financing in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management and other stakeholders. It will develop a system towards management of the country's extension resources for agriculture and fisheries to ensure a sustainable, participatory and efficient system of funding for information, education, and communication materials.

Mitra noted the observation of some people in the academe and agriculture experts that many extension workers employed in LGUs could not effectively provide the technical services needed by the farmers and fisherfolk. He said that one of the reasons of this drawback is that the local chief executives, who also hire the extension officers, can bring into the position those with little or no relevant skills and assign them to do work not related to agricultural extension.

According to Mitra, this problem would be addressed by the proposed Extension Act, stressing that it provides that the PAFEA, in coordination with the Civil Service Commission and subject to the approval of the Council for Extension Research Development in Agriculture and Fisheries (CERDAF), shall develop qualification standards beyond the minimum set by the CSC for the various managerial, technical and non-technical positions of the extension services of the country including that of all local government units.

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