SAGADA, Mountain Province – The Mountain Province Provincial-led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Systems (PAFES) management group, partner municipal local government units, concerned agencies and offices met for a year-end assessment and 2025 planning workshop cum well-being awareness held in Sagada on December 12 and 13, 2024.
The activity is a venue to assess and evaluate the conducted programs and activities to enable the implementors and their partners to give feedback, comments, and recommendations.
Mountain Province Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Center (MPAFEC) Officer-In-Charge and Provincial Veterinarian Rodelio B. Bagawi thanked the different stakeholders for showcasing their commitment in implementing the PAFES’ projects and programs very satisfactorily. He also expressed the center’s gratitude to Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr., for his continuous support to PAFES’ activities and supplementing the funds from the Department of Agriculture to implement activities and programs that are aimed at the further improvement of agricultural services in the province.
He also said that the activity is a venue to plan for next year’s training and activities, considering the feedback and recommendations that were shared during the activity. This, he said, will help improve the implementations of programs and projects in the coming years.
In her message, Provincial Agriculturist Mary Jane S. Tumapang recalled that MPAFEC was launched in the province to strengthen the agricultural and fishery extension services of the local government units. With this, she said that the activity will strengthen the partnership of the PAFES Provincial Management Group and its partner local government units and other offices and stakeholders.
Moreover, PAFES Management Group Chair and Provincial Planning and Development Officer Daniel K. Likigan said that the activity is an avenue for the different stakeholders to share good ideas and practices to identify some gaps and improve teamwork.
Meanwhile, PAFES Focal Person Faith C. Pec-ao of the Provincial Veterinarian Office reported that for 2024, the Department of Agriculture-CAR and the Agricultural Training Institute-CAR has downloaded a one-million-peso PAFEC fund to the provincial government which was used to implement nine capability trainings for agricultural extension workers, artisans and farmers that were conducted from July to December 2024.
Pec-ao said that the conducted trainings aim to enhance the local government units’ capacities in delivering strategic agri-fishery interventions and at the same time, enhance the workers’ potentials as agents of effective and efficient agricultural extension services in the province.
She also reported that the Mountain Province Agriculture and Fisheries Extension System is the top performer in the region for 2024.
After the year-end assessment and meeting, the team visited two learning sites for agriculture on apiary and organic agriculture, which are also the province’s partners in agriculture development.
The Sagada Heritage Apiary Farm, a learning site for agriculture on apiary, is owned by Jason Cam-ed located at Balugan, Sagada while the Batalao Sunrise Farm is a learning site for agriculture on organic farming owned by Dr. Claire Lalwet and located at Batalao, Sagada. By Hail, MP
