ENCOURAGING LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUS) TO ADOPT THE TECHNO GABAY IN THEIR AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROGRAMS AND THE CONCERNED GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED ASSIST…

WHEREAS, the Constitution mandates the State to encourage the widest
participation of local government units, private groups and
community-based organizations in the generation and utilization of
science and technology, as well as regulate the transfer and promote the
adaptation of technology from all sources for the national benefit;

WHEREAS, in consonance with the above constitutional mandate, and in
adherence to the Local Government Code of 1991, Local Government Units
(LGUs) are now tasked to provide extension delivery services,
particularly in terms of food production extension plans and budgets;

WHEREAS, the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) of
2004-2010, likewise specifically provides that Local Government Units
shall exert efforts to strengthen and maximize the technology extension
delivery modalities of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry
and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of
Science and Technology (PCARRD-DOST), with emphasis on the Techno Gabay
Program, and shall consolidate the said program with similar extension
models of other agencies and bureaus;

WHEREAS, the DOST and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), have
concertedly resolved that the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs)
shall further support the LGUs’ agricultural development programs
anchored on the Techno Gabay Program modalities;

WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture (DA), in Department Order No.
03, series of 2007, designated the Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI) as lead agency for e-Extension services in agriculture, fisheries
and natural resources, in collaboration with other government agencies,
SUCs and concerned stakeholders;

WHEREAS, the Techno Gabay Program, now on its tenth year, has
established Farmers Information Technology Services (FITS) centers
nationwide, majority of which are LGU-based, attesting to the program’s
growing grassroots presence and undisputedly seen as an important
enhancement of LGUs’ existing extension delivery services;

WHEREAS, TGP’s Performance and Impact Assessment Studies attested to
the outstanding viability of TGP modalities to lead to higher technical
efficiency and farm productivity and profitability;

WHEREAS, TGP’s stakeholders have expressed a continuing interest to
sustain TGP operations in the countryside and there is likewise a
growing interest among LGUs to adopt the said program;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the
Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by Law
and the Constitution, do hereby encourage all Local Government Units in
the municipal and provincial levels to adopt the Techno Gabay Program
as an extension delivery services modality, and ordering the Department
of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Agriculture
(DA), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Commission on Higher
Education – State Universities and Colleges (CHED-SUCs) and other
concerned agencies, as may be determined by the Steering Committee and
Technical Working Group to be created pursuant to Section 5 hereof, to
provide the required assistance for the purpose.

SECTION 1. Scope and Coverage – The Executive Order
shall cover all local government units where there are dominant
agricultural areas, inclusive of fishery and forestry and/or whose
constituents derive livelihood from farming activities such as urban
agriculture and agriculture-based pro-poor nutrition/livelihood
programs. The Technical Working Group, created under Section 5, hereof
shall provide the criteria for determining the towns and provinces,
which shall be covered by this Executive Order.

SECTION 2. Definition of Terms – For purposes of this Executive Order, the following terms or words and phrases shall mean or be understood as follows:

a. Techno Gabay Program – a
PCARRD-DOST initiative which serves as a platform for developing,
testing, and promoting technology transfer and dissemination modalities
through the networking of R&D institutions in the agriculture,
forestry, and natural resources (AFNR) sectors, namely the Regional
R&D consortia and other members of the National Agriculture and
Resources Research and Development Network (NARRDN); LGUs,
non-government organizations, core of Farmer Scientists or Magsasaka
Siyentista, and other extension service providers, thereby enhancing
technology utilization, adoption, and commercialization.

b. Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) or Techno Pinoy Center
-Serves as a one-stop service facility nearest to the majority of
farmers, entrepreneurs and other clients in a given area. It provides
fast access to information and technologies in forms appropriate to the
clients’ needs.

c. Magsasaka Siyentista – is an
outstanding farmer who is successful in his/her use of S&T-based
and indigenous technologies. The MS is a vital link in technologies
developed in the laboratories and ultimate adoption in farmers’ fields.

d. National Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Network (NARRDN) –
an aggrupation of government and non-government institutions working on
agriculture and natural resources research and development (R&D).

e. Regional Research and Development Consortia –
refers to the PCARRD’s regional consortia for R&D tasked to
facilitate coordination, planning, monitoring and evaluation of R&D
activities and technology promotion and dissemination at the regional
level. Each regional consortium has member agencies, composed of state
colleges and universities, government agencies, local government units
and non-government institutions among others.

f. Information Education Communication (IEC) Strategies – Involves research and need-based communication process aimed to hasten adoption of technologies by FITS and MS clients.

g. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) – a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to create, store, communicate, disseminate and manage information.

h. e-Extension service – the
electronic delivery of extension service thru a network of institutions
that provide a more efficient alternative to a traditional extension
system for agriculture fisheries and natural resources sectors.

i. e-Learning courses – interactive
electronic learning modules especially designed for agricultural
extension workers, enterprising farmers and fisherfolks and other
stakeholders.

SECTION 3. Institutional Arrangements
– This Executive Order shall be implemented observing the following
operational scheme between and among the concerned agencies:

PCARRD-DOST shall:

1. Provide the overall direction within the framework of the
existing Techno Gabay Program, in coordination with its regional
consortia partner member agencies and the DA-ATI;

2. Conduct necessary pre-project consultations and planning activities;

3. Provide or facilitate the conduct of training programs for
the efficient and effective operation of the Techno Pinoy centers;

4. Provide technology/information through Information Education and Communication (IEC) materials for the Techno Pinoy;

5. Link scientific community, the researchers and the
agricultural experts from the National Agriculture and Resources
Research and Development Network (NARRDN); and

6. Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the program at the national level.

DA-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) shall:

1. Link DA’s Extension Program to the extension delivery
modalities under the Techno Gabay Program, extension program of SUCs,
LGUs and other agencies;

2. Provide access to online data-bases of DA on e-Learning courses and other agricultural information; and

3. Complement manpower and logistic support in the conduct of
trainings and education of LGU personnel that will be involved in this
joint undertaking.

Regional Research and Development Consortia shall:

1. Coordinate with LGUs regarding the implementation of the Techno Gabay Program in the municipality;

2. Conduct/facilitate trainings in various areas like ICT, IEC
development, skills training and other related training for the
efficient and effective operation of the center;

3. Provide guidance in the implementation of the FITS; and

4. Monitor the implementation of Techno Gabay Program at the regional level.

LGUs are encouraged to:

1. Appoint/designate the manpower need by the center;

2. Collaborate with the DA and other concerned agencies in
planning technology delivery activities in line with the agriculture
development program of the municipality.

3. Provide seed money for the establishment and maintenance of the FITS center;

4. Provide the site/office for FITS establishment in the area
and purchase equipment and fixtures, supplies necessary to operate the
center; and

5. Make available its staff to manage the project.

SECTION 4. Funding – All local government units covered
by this Executive Order are encouraged to allocate funds from their
respective budgets to cover the program’s physical, human, and financial
requirements.

Supplemental budgets may also be sourced by the concerned LGU from
contributions of public and private institutions involved in the
program.

Fund utilization and disbursement shall be subject to the usual government accounting and auditing rules and regulations.

SECTION 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations – The
PCARRD-DOST, with the active participation of selected CHED-SUCs, DA,
DA-ATI and LGUs, shall call for the creation of a Steering Committee
and a Technical Working Committee that shall formulate the Implementing
Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the effective implementation of this
Executive Order.

SECTION 6. Separability Clause – If any section or
provision of this Executive Order shall be declared unconstitutional or
invalid, the other sections or provision not affected thereby shall
remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 7. Repealing Clause – All Executive Orders, Rules
and Regulations or parts thereof contrary to or inconsistent with this
Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 8. Effectivity Clause – The EO shall take effect immediately.

Adopted: 14 May 2009

(SGD.) GLORIA M. ARROYO
President of the Philippines  

BY THE PRESIDENT:

(SGD.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA
Executive Secretary