City of San Fernando, PAMPANGA – The Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office (DA-RFO3) thru the Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Division (PMED) in cooperation with the I-PLAN Component of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) conducted a briefing on Updating the Agri-Fishery Profile of Central Luzon held on March 9, 2021 at the DA Conference Room, here.

The activity was attended by PRDP technical officers, DA banner coordinators, and representatives from other attached agencies who opted to join virtually through Webex.

According to PMED Chief and I-PLAN Component Head Arthur D. Dayrit, it was in the year 2016 since the Agri-Fishery Profile was last updated.

“The updated profile is crucial since it is used as basis in formulating plans and projects especially now that the Supreme Court Mandanas Ruling will be implemented wherein select interventions for production supports and capacity development projects/activities of the department will be transferred to the local government units (LGUs),” Dr. Dayrit said.

He also emphasized that the department will forge contracts with the LGUs in implementing various programs and projects to have a sense of co-ownership and commitment.

“What we need is a comprehensive data of the agri-fishery profile because we want our decision to be backed by reliable data in providing extension support to our clientele,” he added.

Moving forward, the need for consistent and accurate data is crucial in crafting long-term development plans as this will track the performance of agri-fishery management in the following years.

To conclude, the workshop is considered a useful instrument that can be used as a basis to formulate future activities and interventions in the region. (MA. REINA LEN G. LUNA, RPCO3 InfoACE)