OPA roles vitalin food security

Provincial Agriculturist Liza M. Quirog underscored the vital roles of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist
(OPA) to reach and inform the Agri-fishery sector in the community regarding the mandate of the office of ensuring
food sufficiency and security and increase agricultural productivity and income among the members of the sector.
It may be recalled that in every first Monday of the month, the OPA has conducted a General Assembly to be
participated by all employees of OPA, Provincial Agriculturist Quirog has been stressed the important role of the
OPA employees which are considered as the role model by the agri-fishery sector and as such we have to live such
expectation by showing them that we are capable or deserving in doing our jobs to lead them towards agricultural
upliftment.

 Quirog emphasized this as she said that the closed to two hundred employees of the Office of the Provincial
Agriculturist (OPA) must not only doing their jobs at the office of the Provincial Capitol Building but also outside in
doing field works, touching the muds and experiencing the scorching heat of the sun as what have been done and
experienced by the farmers and fisherfolks.

Along with this, last January 27, 2024, Provincial Agriculturist Quirog divided the OPA employees into four
groups to conduct farm action to the four facilities to wit: Bohol Organic Agriculture Technology Center
(BOATECH) in Gabi, Ubay; Provincial Multi-Species Fresh Water Fresh Hatchery in Bohol Island State University
(BISU) Bilar main Campus, Zamora, Bilar; Balilihan Nursery in Del Carmen Weste, Balilihan; and in the Macaas
Nursery in barangay Macaas, Tubigon, Bohol.

Together with Provincial Agriculturist Quirog and OPA regular and job order workers were Executive Assistants
for Agriculture:  Engr. Ricardo Oblena, Nunila M. Pinat, Alfeo Piloton and Salvio Madanguit who is the ISDA
Program Provincial Coordinator in the PGBh.

This farm action has been conducted quarterly even if that these facilities have been maintained by some regular
and job order workers from OPA but considering the spacious areas to be managed and maintained, thus the farm
actions have been conducted, Quirog emphasized.

The BOATECH facility is the biggest among all facilities which consists the areas of 15 hectares (has.) and has
only managed by 15 regular and job order employees; Balilihan Nursery has two has. maintained by 14; Macaas
Nursery has more than a has. has taken cared by 10 employees; while the Provincial Multi-Species Fresh Water Fish
Hatchery at the BISU Bilar Main Campus which has also an area of almost a hectare is also managed by 7
employees.

The income of the facilities from the rents of the farm equipment in BOATECH, sales from the vegetables and
other agricultural products to include the Tilapia fry from the hatchery in Bilar would go to the Provincial
Treasurer’s Office (PTO) coffee. By Atoy Cosap