TACLOBAN CITY- The newly designated officer-in-charge of the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office-8 immediately buckled down to work by taking his first-ever official engagement with the members of the public and private media in the region.
OIC-Regional Executive Director U-Nichols A. Manalo underscored his plans for the coming year even as he assured them that existing programs and projects will continue so long as they are responsive to President Duterte’s thrust of providing available and affordable food for all Filipinos.
This was learned during the media interaction- cum- DA innovations forum held recently at the Kitchen Yum, Brgy. Guindaponan, Palo, Leyte attended by over 50 local media practitioners including officers and members of the Association of Government Information Officers in Region 8 (AGIO-8).
Manalo took over the post of Regional Executive Director Wilson A. Cerbito, who has been on medical leave since last week of November, this year.
In his message, Director Manalo expressed his gratitude for the warm reception accorded him by the DA-staff and personnel led by DA-8’s Assistant Regional Director for Research and Regulations, Dr. Elvira C. Torres.
He likewise acknowledged same degree of warm welcome he got from the local media and the government information officers whom he considered agents of change being the bearer of information to DA’s ultimate clients – the farmers and fisherfolk.
Manalo assured that the DA –8 will continue to provide assistance to farmers and fisherfolk by way of finding long-term solution to the lingering or old farming practices of some rice farmers and the seeming lack of farm machineries, equipment and tools.
He also mentioned about Secretary Manny Piñol’s order for the agency to follow the national framework in addressing climate change in agriculture by strengthening the implementation of Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture (AMIA).
According to him, AMIA will serve as the umbrella program covering climate change across all programs, functions, and agencies attached to DA.
AMIA is one of the seven systems-wide mainstreaming programs which should mainstream at both the strategic and operational level across agencies and programs systems-wide. This means transforming systems, adjusting development programs/projects, and capacitating people to achieve efficiency at all levels of implementation.
“Starting next year, I will go around the region, especially to the areas where our Secretary has not visited yet. This will be one of my priority agenda in order to better understand the place as well as to really determine the needs of the farmers and encourage them to be actively involved in my style of collective or participatory management,” Director Manalo said. (PR)
