THE MUNICIPAL AGRICULTURAL & FISHERIES COUNCIL OF GUBAT, SORSOGON

(Speech delivered by Mr. Faustino J. Taclan Sr., Gubat MAFC chairman, at the Agricultural and Fisheries Council Congress held in Monte Vista, Pansol Laguna on May 3, 2004.)

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The highly-esteemed organizers of this AFC Congress, my colleagues in the AFC coming from the Bicol Region, Region IV-A and Region IV-B, guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. This afternoon I am going to share with you the story of the Municipal Agricultural and Fisheries Council of Gubat, Sorsogon. But before I begin, let me say that on a personal note, I readily accepted the chairmanship of our MAFC because at the time of my election, I was into my fifth year as a retired Supervising Agriculturist from the Department of Agriculture and was looking for a way to keep me busy and at the same time to make myself useful to the community where I lived and still live.

Having said that, let me now begin the story. After my election as chairman in June 2001, I immediately buckled down to work. I called for the meeting of all the different stakeholders who pledged to cooperate with me in all our endeavors. For our initial undertaking, we devoted the period from July to December of 2001 to the evaluation of the processes and procedures and the structure of the organization. At the same time, we laid down our plans and mapped out our strategies for the implementation. Below are the major changes we introduced.

ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK:
Our municipality, Gubat, is composed of 42 barangays, 33 of which have organized Barangay Agricultural and Fisheries Councils. This is big and gathering all the members into a general assembly had proved to be a daunting task. Most of the time, the monthly general assemblies did not meet the required quorum, preventing those present from officially discussing issues and coming up with binding decisions. Most of those who did not attend the assemblies cited their livelihood concerns as the deterrent factor. To address this issue of not meeting the quorum, we looked at the structure of the organization and realized that if we divided the group into subgroups, we would easily meet the quorum aside from making the affairs of the organization more manageable. Thus, clustering was born. We divided the 42 barangays into seven (7) clusters, each composed of six barangays and each having an agricultural technologist from the Municipal Agriculture Office assigned to it. The technologist provides technical assistance and serves as a liaison officer between MAFC and the BAFC as well as the barangay residents.

MEETINGS:
Since it had become clear to us that the general assembly could not meet monthly, we decided to make it meet only twice a year or as the need arises. If there are issues or problems that arise that have not been addressed by the general assembly during its meetings, we now refer these to an executive committee that has been created to serve such purpose. The committee, which is composed of the MAFC officers and the chairpersons of each of MAFC's six sectors (livestock, food crops, fisheries, high-value commercial crops, environment and farm mechanization), meets once every two months or when there is a need for it.

PLANS AND PROGRAMS:
MAFC prepares an annual action plan that is built around the specific functions of the AFC as embodied in the AFC Manual of Regulations: 1) to conduct regular and special AFC meetings, consultations and congresses…, 2) to assist the DA in the monitoring and evaluation…, 3) to submit a work and financial plan for every calendar year…, 4) to participate in the review of DA approved plans and programs…, 5) to identify and refer pertinent issues to appropriate legislative bodies for legislation, 6) to promote capability-building among AFC officers and members, and 7) to source out/raise funds to sustain its operation. For the years 2002 and 2003, the budget allocated by the local government unit was P 25, 000.00. For this year, the budget has been increased to P 40, 000.00.

CENTERPIECE PROGRAM:
Following its mandate from the AFC Manual of Regulations, MAFC Gubat has adopted monitoring and evaluation of the Municipal Agriculture Office's projects and programs as its centerpiece program.

STRATEGY OF PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION:
Officers and members of the sectoral committees and the barangay agricultural and fisheries councils form the workforce in the monitoring and evaluating of Municipal Agriculture Office projects and programs. For example, in the mudcrab production program located in Barangay Cota na Daco, it is the officers of the fisheries sector, the officers and members of the BAFC of Barangay Cota na Daco, and the agricultural technologist assigned to the barangay who compose the workforce. Having attended an orientation seminar on mudcrab production, they have acquired the know-how and the skills necessary to perform their assigned tasks. Once given the assignment, the workforce has to see to the successful implementation of the project, making sure that all needs (supplies, materials, funding, technical assistance, etc) of the project are met. Part of their responsibility is to persuade barangay residents to avail of, participate, and/or help in the implementation of the project.

If problems or issues arise that they cannot solve on their level, this is relayed by the agricultural technologist to the Municipal Agriculturist or the MAFC Chairman who sit down together to come up with solutions. If this fails, the matter is referred to higher authorities-the local chief executive and/or the Department of Agriculture.

ORIENTATION SEMINAR:
Before implementing the MAFC approved action plan, we conduct orientation seminars on various agricultural issues and concerns in general and the different MAO and DA programs and projects in particular. These are participated in by all MAFC and BAFC officers and members, including the agricultural technologists. In these gatherings, we invite experts to discuss: 1) The Mechanics and Schemes of Current MAO and DA Programs at issue; 2) The Roles of MAFC in the Implementation of such programs; 3) The Strategies in Monitoring and Evaluation of the same; and 4) The AFC Manual of Regulations.

Having effected the major changes mentioned earlier and having finished all the preparations, we began implementing our programs in January 2002. We gathered our workforce and gave them their assignments. Of course, it was to be expected that we would have our share of hits and misses. Because of the major changes, most of our strategies became a matter of trial-and-error method. If a strategy worked, it was retained and, whenever practicable, improved. If it did not, it was immediately discarded, to be replaced by a new one. We made a lot of adjustments to achieve our goals and it was not an easy task, not to mention the delays in the releases of funds from the municipal government. But once we have ironed out the difficulties and made the adjustments, it was smooth sailing for us for the rest of the year.

By the end of 2002, we were nominated in the provincial Search for Gawad Saka Outstanding Awardee which we won. We went on to win the Regional Search for Gawad Saka Outstanding Awardee. For our feats, the Gubat MAFC received P 1, 000.00 and a plaque from the Sorsogon Provincial Agricultural and Fisheries Council and another plaque and ten piglets from the Regional Agricultural and Fisheries Council

Immediately after we garnered the awards, a MAFC general assembly meeting was held the main purpose of which was to assess MAFC performance for the year 2002 and explore areas where improvements could be instituted. In a pep talk, we challenged each member of the MAFC to prove that we deserved the award and to improve on our performance so we could achieve greater heights in the coming years.

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