News

DA-SUC-LGU to systematize efforts on collaborative extension service
by Marlowe U. Aquino, PhD

After the two major consultative meetings conducted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) in separate occasions with local government units (LGU) and state universities and colleges (SUC) in May 2008, they are now ready to drumbeat all efforts to unify and systematize the collaborative extension service to address the issue of food security and sustainability.

Responding to the rice crisis early this year, the DA-SUC-LGU view that the best way to put an end to the rice crisis is to work closely and establish strong partnership at the local, provincial, regional, and national levels.

Given the different DA Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Banner Programs, this new agricultural development strategy will support the different activities vis-à-vis the FIELDS program of the government. FIELDS — which stands for Fertilizer, Irrigation, Education, Extension and Training, Loan or credit, Dryers or Postharvest facilities, and Seeds— will address food sufficiency, competitiveness, enterprise development, and stable industries.

The DA, through the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), started the groundwork to send the message of hope and vision for a progressive agricultural sector. DA's vision is to make the country rice-sufficient in 2010 and simultaneously working on export commodities that support different enterprises and industries.

The work will focus on the provision of collaborative extension service (CES) which will be visualized and operationalized through a group of experts headed by Dr. Emil Q. Javier, president of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Drs. Rogelio Cuyno, Santiago Obien, Rolando Dy, Manuel Bonifacio, Leonardo Gonzales, Luis Rey Velasco, Leocadio Sebastian, Fernardo Bernardo, and Sergio Francisco.

The expert's group activities include regional consultation-meetings and briefings to SUCs with strong extension service experiences and LGU partnerships highlighting rice production management system and regional priority commodities. With this in hand, the DA-SUC-LGU collaborative extension effort should now incorporate the results of research by looking at the changes happening to the end-users of technology and their communities, modalities of information sharing and exchange to bring about change through the proper management of resources.