The Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), with the Regional and selected Provincial Agricultural and Fishery Council (RAFC/PAFC) Coordinators, conducted a review of their performance for the first three quarters of the year and identified strategies to accomplish variances, as well as the fourth quarter targets.
The Joint PCAF-RAFC and Selected PAFC Coordinators Performance Review and Planning Workshop held on October 6-10 in Naga City served as a venue to generate a shared understanding among the PCAF staff and RAFC and PAFC Coordinators in attendance on the agency's Major Final Outputs and its corresponding indicators, as well as strategize the attainment of the remaining targets for the year and improvement of the collection of reports, resolve challenges in consultation and monitoring activities, and appreciate the importance of policy agenda-setting.
PCAF Executive Director Ariel Cayanan emphasized the roles of the AFC coordinators in promoting private sector participation and among the pillars of every AFC consultation, advocacy, planning, monitoring and evaluation, saying: “Realizing the role as the VOICE and BRIDGES of agriculture and fisheries communities will not have been possible without the support of our AFC coordinators who have been closely working with our AFC leaders in facilitating a strong participation among the agri-fishery stakeholders.”
Topics discussed during the undertaking were: Key Result Areas and Initiatives Implemented; PCAF Mandate, Structure and Functions; PCAF MFO Indicators: Operational Definition, Tool for Measurement and Reporting Schedules; Agency Performance: Who contributes to what?; AFC Performance; Content Analysis of Resolutions Endorsed; Sharing of Good Practices; 2015 PCAF Plan and Budget; Result of AFC Profiling; Criteria for MAFC Selection for Budget Support; Format & Contents for Customized Work and Financial Plan; The Importance of Policy Agenda Setting; and Formulating a Policy Brief.
Coordinators’ best practices
Some of the RAFC and PAFC coordinators shared their respective council’s good practices in addressing their challenges.
RAFC 1 Coordinator Milagros dela Rosa shared how their council in the Ilocos Region monitors DA-funded projects and their monitoring reports are used by the DA Regional Field Office in evaluating programs and projects.
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Meanwhile, ARMM RAFC Coordinator Virginia Manuel revealed some of the strengths the AFC in their region has, such as having a supportive Department of Agriculture and Fisheries officials and LGU executives, their adaptability to change, highly motivated AFC chairpersons and dedicated AFC coordinators.
Samar PAFC Coordinator John Meniano, Jr. also shared that their provincial government is supportive of the AFC and its activities in encouraging people’s participation and empowerment in agriculture and fisheries development. He also revealed some of the resolutions the provincial government approved, such as the provision of PAFC receipts from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and agricultural insurance for 440 faming and fishing household beneficiaries of the Agrikultura: Kaagapay ng Bayang Pinoy (AKBay) Program. The Samar PAFC was also able to get P1 million worth of financial support for the AFC operations from the provincial government.
Also, Davao Oriental PAFC Coordinator Mercedita Quiamco, shared some of their council’s milestones, such as the launching of the Boston and Tarragona Farmers Information Technology Services (FITS) Centers, and the Banaybanay FITS Center which was given a plaque of recognition in 2011 for its performance and commitment in providing technology and services to farmers and fishers in Region 11. They were also able to generate financial resources from the provincial government .
PCAF Infrastructure Support and Coordination Section Chief Engr. Francia Macalintal also shared the best practices of the National Sectoral Committees (NSCs) in conducting regular and special meetings and public consultations and in gathering feedback from the private sector regarding agricultural and fishery issues and concerns.
She also said that commitment, competence, attitude, time consciousness, teamwork and synergy are critical traits that help them achieve the goals of the NSC.
Workshop outputs
The participants are grouped into their respective regions to identify and resolve consultation and monitoring challenges. |
Workshops were conducted during the undertaking where the participants identified challenges in meeting their targets, such as intervening activities, multiple responsibilities of coordinators, limited resources, and lengthy processing period for reimbursements, among others.
They also proposed several strategies in resolving the challenges identified, which includes rescheduling of AFC activities, assigning RAFC officers to help meet targets, and coordination with the LGUs for financial resources, among others.
The AFC coordinators are also set to prepare their respective region’s Work and Financial Plan for 2015 to be submitted to the PCAF on October 30, as well as a customized AFC Work Plan and Budget for 2016 and their respective councils’ comments on the Criteria for MAFC Selection for Budget Support which are both expected to be submitted on November 15.
source: http://nafc.da.gov.ph/NAFCNEWs/2014/joint.html