Strengthening the Civil Society Organization’s (CSO) role in the delivery of agri-fishery development programs and projects in Ilocos Region, the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office I through its Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (PMED) conducted the first Regional CSO summit at the Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives (NSCC) in Caoayan, Ilocos Sur.

Held on September 12-13, 2024, the Regional CSO Summit aims to empower the Farmers Cooperatives and Organizations to become a vital partner of the DA and its attached agencies in the implementation of various government programs and services while giving them insights how they may able to benefit from being accredited CSOs.

Gathering around 200 individuals from the various stakeholders, the summit provided an avenue for the government agencies to promote their programs and projects which the CSOs in the region may avail of.

Among the agencies that presented their programs and projects are the Agricultural Training Institute relative to the issuance of certification and accreditation for learning sites, the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s programs, projectd and services, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Agricultural Credit Policy Council’s loan program, Department of Trade and Industry’s development and promotion services for small and medium enterprises and the Department of Science and Technology’s programs and projects.

Prior to the discussion of the programs and projects of the various agencies, Ms. Mency Tolentino, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Bacarra Zanjera Irrigators MPC, one of the successful CSO-accredited FCA in the region discussed the importance of values formation and moral recovery among CSOs that provided the participants an in depth understanding how important values and morals are in successfully carrying out the goals and objectives of an organization.

To provide the CSOs salient information on the guidelines on their Accreditation as partner in the implementation of agri-fishery projects, Mr. Alvin Rancho, Chief of the Partnership Development Division of the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fishery shared the updated guidelines while Ms. Nerissa Florie Ricotin, representing Dir. Larry Dizon, the Provincial Ditector of the Technical Skills Development Authority (TESDA) also discussed the certification and accreditation process on programs for private groups as well as trade associations.

Other than these topics, representatives from the DA in Ilocos has likewise provided briefing and orientation on various programs and projects that can be availed of by the participants to include among others the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Information System (FFEDIS), the Province-led Agricultural Fisheries Extension System (PAFES), Procurement Process for CSOs and the Opportunities in Agriculture.

In her message during the event, Dr. Divina Quemi, the Chief Executive Officer of the NSCC who served as the guest of honor and speaker emphasized the important roles of the CSO as a vital partner of government agencies in planning, implementing, regulating and monitoring government projects.

With the success of the NSCC as one of the only two CSO- accredited organization at the National level in the region, Dr. Quemi inspired the participants with the various agri-fishery projects that the NSCC has availed of where members are now enjoying the benefits.

Meanwhile, Dr. John Pascual, OIC-Regional Executive Director of Ilocos in his message noted the essence of collaboration, convergence, innovation and comprehensive approach in creating a sustainable agri-fishery industry. With the conduct of this regional summit, RED Pascual enjoined the FCAs to take advantage of the opportunities that the CSO accreditation has offered as it now served as one of the major requirements in availing of projects by the DA and other agencies.

In his welcome remarks, Engr. Dennis Tactac, Regional Technical Director of DA in Ilocos noted the importance of conducting the summit as it provides an opportunity for the FCAs to be updated with the various guidelines and processes of availing agri-fishery projects while giving them an avenue to be informed on the process of accreditation and renewal as CSO in the region.

With the total of 49 renewals out of the 81 CSO-accredited FCAs in the region, Director Tactac hoped to increase the number of FCAs to be accredited to CSO as a result of the conduct of this first CSO summit in the region.##