The Department of Agriculture(DA) has defended its decision to slash the budget for Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) saying this was reached after consultations with the poultry, livestock and fisheries and aquaculture sectors as well as four region-wide agricultural and fishery council (AFC) meetings, among others.
PCAF is the legally mandated arm of the DA for stakeholders’ participation. For this year, the agency received a budget of P159.99 million, which is 20 percent lower than the P202.16 million it had last year.
Ruperto Aleroza, National Chair of Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan (PKSK), earlier said that the issues that the DA is currently facing – including the failed government-to-government importation of 300,0000 metric tons (MT) of rice and the controversial fertilizer procurement – are the direct result of the agency’s lack of consultations with its stakeholders.
According to him, the DA has not been holding regular consultations at the national level to discuss various issues in the farm sector, including trade concerns and agriculture and fishery policies, programs and budgets.
“Agriculture Secretary William Dar has yet to explain to us his agriculture and fisheries constituency why he has let this happen,” Aleroza said
Dar was quick to defend his agency, saying that while the budget for PCAF indeed went down, stakeholder engagement didn’t let up.
He also said that just like in any organization, PCAF has its limitations and couldn’t involve everyone.
Moreover, PCAF said in a separate statement that despite the budget cut for its operating expenses as stipulated under the 2020 General Appropriations Act, coupled with restrictions brought about by the Covid-19-related quarantine measures that further necessitated refocusing 12 percent of the agency’s budget to other related activities, it was still able to facilitate various meetings and dialogues with stakeholders.
These dialogues, according to the agency, generated 44 relevant policy recommendations that were all subsequently adopted and endorsed to concerned agencies.
“We have also been laying down the groundworks for the new normal particularly in terms of internet connection and in managing virtual meetings which has become the main channels for communications and dialogue with the private and government sectors,” said acting PCAF Executive Director Liza Battad.
“We have also instituted innovative tasks and streamlined processes in facilitating consultations to generate policy recommendations immediately or within 24 hours. These are submitted to the Secretary for endorsement to the concerned agency within three days as compared to the average 30-day period under the previous National Sectoral Committees set-up,” she added.
PCAF also claimed that it continuously expands its membership and validates activities through online recruitment and with the help of the PCAF regional non-government workers (NGWs). It likewise keeps abreast with its partnership development mandate and convergence with civil society organizations (CSOs), farmers and fisherfolk associations and cooperatives.
Just recently, PCAF forged agreements with Rice Watch Action Network Inc. (R1) for climate smart planning and awareness; Nueva Ecija Federation of Dairy Carabao Cooperative (NEFEDCCO) on improving rural family nutrition and campaign; Aurora Integrated Multi-Purpose Cooperative (AIMCoop) on value-chain membership expansion; Cruzian Multi-Purpose Cooperative on logistical support; and PASABE on A&F mechanization information sharing.
Currently, there are six CSOs being engaged to co-implement some PCAF innovative strategies on climate change and membership expansion.
Partnership with Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency and its international volunteer organizations (i.e. Korean World Friends) has also been forged to co-manage international volunteer projects at the AFC level.