Author: Venus Ladaga

Provincial Agriculturist Liza M. Quirog had directed all the regular and job order worker employees of the
Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) to stay focused on their respective targets in order to achieve the
office’s mandates: to ensure food sufficiency and security in the province, and to increase agricultural productivity
and income among Boholano farmers.

During the OPA general assembly held last Monday at the OPA Office, 3 rd  Floor, New Capitol Building, this city
that was attended by 166 regular and job order workers and six workers under a contract of services, Quirog said
that Governor Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado has a high expectation to the office to maintain and sustain the title of
the province is the “Food Basket in Central Visayas”.

Having that title, Bohol is considered as a major food producer in Central Visayas, thus it is our responsibility to
work hard and enhance our skills in agriculture so as to produce more, Quirog emphasized.

She urged them to keep on learning, studying, reading and attending training to acquire more knowledge and
skills in agriculture and share it with the municipal agricultural technicians and to the Boholano farmers.
To work in the provincial agriculture office is very challenging because we are responsible to feed the 1.4M
Boholanos and a number of tourists who have come to the province.

Quirog thanks Gov. Aumentado for putting more manpower into the OPA to carry on the task of ensuring the
foods are available on the table.

Executive Assistants for Agriculture Engr. Ricardo Oblena and Alfeo Piloton also underscored the importance of
evaluating the accomplishments and focusing on the targets.

Engr. Oblena said that the office should make a spot monitoring regarding the distribution of vegetable seeds to
check if whether the beneficiaries really plant or not the seeds from the provincial government.

Meanwhile, Former Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Piloton said that the OPA
should make a value chain analysis of all commodities.

Piloton said that momentarily, he will talk to Gov. Aumentado regarding the government projects in other
provinces that can also be replicated or implemented in Bohol.

The agriculture office of the province has always conducted a general assembly every last Monday of the month
wherein the chief or any representative from each of the five divisions will render their respective monthly
accomplishment reports to measure on how they achieve their target or goals. By Atoy Cosap

The Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh) through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) will
conduct two Ubi Festivals this year.

This developed after the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Bohol passed an ordinance sponsored by 3 rd District
Board Member Nathaniel Binlod who is the member of the SP Committee on Agriculture declaring that the Ubi
Festival be conducted on every second week of December of the year.

This could be the first ever that in a year there would be two festivals to be conducted as the first one was done
last January 26-30, 2023 at the Old Tagbilaran City Airport, this city.

The passage of the ordinance superseding the SP resolution mandating that the Ubi Fest be conducted on every
3 rd week of January of the year is an offshoot of the assessment that was conducted after the festival of which BM
Binlod had attended and personally heard the suggestions among the Municipal Agriculturists (MAs)/Municipal
Agricultural Officers (MAOs) and Ubi growers that the festival is ideally be done on every December or earlier than
January because that would be the harvesting time.

They added that we could not expect volume of Ubi products to be displayed on January Festival considering
that during the yuletide season Ubi product is highly demanded in the market.

During the Sandugo Agri-Fair preparatory meeting last Thursday held at the Panda Tea Suite and Garden, Dao,
Tagbilaran City, Provincial Agriculturist Liza M. Quirog informed the MAs/MAOs, and the representatives from
agri-line agencies that we will be adopting the real essence of a festival this coming December that there would be
Ubi Street Dancing, Miss Ubi among others which still to be crafted by the Technical Working Group (TWG) from
OPA.

Quirog said that they will ask additional fund in the amount of P1M aside from the allocation of P2M as
stipulated in the ordinance to entice more Municipal Local Government Units (MLGUs) to participate.
The usual allocation as mandated in the resolution is only more than P700, 000 in the whole duration of the fest.
The provincial agriculturist said that the formal letter will be sent to the MLGUs the soonest possible time
informing them about the development so as to prepare necessary supplemental budget purposely needed on that
activity.

Ubi Festival is an annual affair of the PGBh through the OPA as the way of giving gratitude, honor and awards
among Boholano farmers who are responsible for the development of Ubi industry in Bohol. By Atoy Cosap

The Provincial Government of Bohol through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) in coordination
with the Department of Agriculture (DA) is determined to conduct the cloud seeding operations in the latter part of
next month to save the standing crops from El Nino on that time.

This developed even after the two days of ocular assessment conducted by the Technical Working Group (TWG)
on El Nino last May 30-31, 2023 of the four dams in the province of Bohol: Bayongan Dam in San Miguel, Malinao
Dam (Pilar), Capayas Dam (Ubay), and Zamora Dam (Talibon), it was found out that the irrigation water is still
enough to be used in this wet cropping season.

However, they explained that the present condition of the water supply of the four dams could not sustain the
water requirements until the vegetative and flowering stages of planted crops especially rice this season, thus cloud
seeding operations are needed.

During the meeting of the TWG on El Nino which consists the representatives from the PGBh, Bureau of Soil
and Water Management (BSWM), DA, and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) last Thursday at the OPA
Conference Room, New Capitol Building, they agreed to utilize first the standby fund amounted to P2.5M from the
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PRRMO) for the one round of cloud seeding operation
to be conducted on the last week of July; while waiting on the result of the formal request from the provincial
government to BSWM to allocate funds in the amount of P7.5M so as to conduct three rounds of cloud seeding
operations in addition to the funds from PGBh.

Gov. Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado wrote a letter addressed to Director Gina P. Nilo, BSWM, last May 16, 2023,
formally requesting to set aside funds for the conduct of making artificial rain to save the agricultural products to
include livestock in Bohol.

Gov. Aumentado during the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council full meeting of which he is
the chairman last May 16, 2023, at the Ceremonial Hall, 4 th  Floor, New Capitol Building received three resolutions
from the Malinao Dam Federation of Irrigators Association (MADFIA), Bayongan and Capayas Farmers/Irrigators
Association (BAY_CAPA), Inc. and Talibon Small Reservoir Irrigators System (SRIS) Irrigators Association, Inc.
with the same tenor which is to request the governor of Bohol to allocate funds for cloud seeding for the wet
cropping season.

Corazon Ditarro from BSWM said that according to Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical
Service Administration (PAG-ASA) 22/24 models suggest potentials for El Nino by May-July 2023. Both the
dynamical and statistical models indicate El Nino by May-July 2023, with the warming stronger in the dynamical
models. In the model output and expert judgment for the ENSO El Nino probability forecast, there is an 82% for the
May-June-July 2023 season up to 93% December 2023-January 2024-February 2024 seasons.
Bohol has a total of 57, 007.05 hectares (has.) of rice land areas of which 25, 885 has. are irrigated and 31,
122.05 are rainfed wherein of the total rice areas the municipality of Ubay has the biggest areas among towns of
Bohol with 8, 314 has. (4,149 has. – irrigated and 4, 165 has. – rainfed).

The TWG El Nino justified that the cloud seeding operations do not only intended for rice, corn but for all
commodities to include human lives and livestock.  By Atoy Cosap

Due to the looming El Nino forecasted by the Philippine Atmospheric Geo-Physical Services Administration
(PAG-ASA) to hit the country from July this year to March next year, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council (PDRRMC) during full its council meeting last Tuesday held at the Ceremonial Hall, 4 th  Floor,
New Capitol Building, Cogon this city has recommended to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to declare Bohol under
the state of calamity.

Gov. Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado, PDRRMC Chair said that based on the report from PAG-ASA that an 80%
probability having El Nino within the next two months, although there haven’t damages yet being reported to
agriculture, the declaration is necessary so Local Government Units (LGUs) could use their calamity funds to draw
mitigating measures to lessen the impact of dry conditions.

At that meeting, the council through Gov. Aumentado received three resolutions from the Malinao Dam
Federation of Irrigators Association (MADFIA), Bayongan and Capayas Farmers/Irrigators Association (BAY-
CAPA). Inc. and Talibon Small Reservoir Irrigators System (SRIS) Irrigators Association, Inc. with the same tenor
which is to request the governor of Bohol to allocate funds for cloud seeding for the wet cropping season.

Gov. Aumentado emphasized that we do not wait that the situation would worsen before we will take action.
Provincial Agriculturist Liza M. Quirog said that the provincial government has already made preparations to
mitigate the impact of El Nino in the province to wit: the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) and the
Department of Agriculture (DA) prepositioning and distributing rice, corn and vegetable seeds to the farmers; early
release of water from irrigation dams to beat the lowering amount of moisture which will be felt towards the
3 rd  quarter of the year particularly in the month of July and onwards; Governor Aumentado already wrote the letters
sent to the following: DA Undersecretary to amend the Rice Program Guidelines to reach farmers with less than 1,
000 sq. m. and those encoded late by the LGUs and DA, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to
grant funds to LGUs to establish LGU operated hatcheries and distribute bangus fingerlings;

More letters were sent to: DA Regional Director requesting the amount of P259, 000, 000 fund or materials
assistance for various agricultural interventions i. e. crops, agricultural engineering and livestock to the farmers in
Bohol, BFAR Regional Director requesting P28, 000, 000 fund or materials assistance for various fishery production
interventions to the fisherfolk in Bohol, BSWM Director requesting for P7, 500 fund assistance for the cloud
seeding operations for three quarters in Bohol;

The governor will meet the manager of the National Food Authority (NFA) in Bohol to talk about their palay
procurement program for Boholano’s rice produce; and he will meet DA and NIA representatives to reconcile
records of rice seeds beneficiaries to include all other farmers presently excluded from their master list.

Quirog disclosed that the actual data on the damage caused by El Nino will be available on May 29, 2023, from
the municipal agricultural offices.

NIA IMMEDIATE MEASURES
Elvira Alvarado bared that NIA will implement proper water management through continued implementation of
alternate distribution schedule to save on water and address water shortage; implement proper water management
through early planting; adoption of diversified dropping to areas most likely to experience water shortage; provide
advisory to farmers to plant short-term seeds during the SMCs meetings; coordination and monitoring with irrigators
associations through meetings on the status of water availability; installation of water installation pumps on areas
where water exists or drained water are collected; submission of cloud seeding request to the provincial government;
information dissemination to farmers and stakeholders during meetings and distribution of brochures to improve
awareness; and weekly dam water level monitoring and reporting starting May 29, 2023.

Alvararo said that their long-term measures are ongoing such as the construction of small water impounding
through water re-use on the existing drainage integrating solar pump; construction of canal lining and structure;
rehabilitation/reforestation at the watershed areas to improve streamflow or implementation of integrated water
resource management program.

Leonardo Samar from PAG-ASA said that their office has been continuously monitoring the developing El Nino
conditions in the tropical Pacific. Recent conditions and model forecasts indicate that El Nino may emerge in the
coming season (June-July-August) at 80% probability and may persist until the first quarter of 2024.

Samar added that El Nino increases the likelihood of below-normal rainfall conditions, which could bring
negative impacts (such as dry spells and droughts) in some areas of the country. However, over the western part of
the country, above-normal rainfall conditions during the Southwest monsoon season (habagat) may also be
expected. By Atoy Cosap

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in establishing a Province – led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension
System (PAFES) between the Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh), the Department of Agriculture (DA) and
Agri – Stakeholders in the province seeks to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services to be given to agri-
fishery sector had finally signed just recently.

Governor Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado for and on behalf of the PGBh, Dir. Angel C. Enriquez stands for the
DA, and the representatives from Bohol Island State University, Regional Agriculture and Fishery Extension
Wetwork, League of Municipalities of the Philippines – Bohol Chapter, Municipal Agricultural Officer, City
Agriculturist and      Municipal Agriculturist Association – Bohol,  Provincial Agriculture and Fisheries Council,
Provincial Rural Improvement Club, Bohol Provincial 4-H Federation, Federation of Irrigators  Associations in
Bohol, Kapunungan sa Bol-anong Organikong Mag-uuma, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council,
and Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry- Bohol signed the MOA during the PAFES Program Reorientation
and MOA signing last May 12, 2023, held at the Ceremonial Hall, 4 th  Floor, New Capitol Building, this city.

Gov. Aumentado in his message said that he was elated in this development which is in harmony with the
Strategic Change and Development Agenda in the provincial government under his administration.
Aumentado viewed that since this program is in collaboration with the different agri-related government
agencies which have their own roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the programs, he is optimistic that
the programs would reach the door step of the end users.

On her part, Director Enriquez said that through PAFES we can achieve greater accomplishments through
simplifying things wherein the main objective of the signing is already to signal the start of a very strong extension
function through collaboration between and among the Local Government Unit (LGU) particularly the Municipal
Agriculture/Municipal Agriculturist Office, provincial and national governments in the implementation of the
programs in agriculture.

Elvin J. Milleza, Chief-PMED, DA7in his presentation disclosed that the program has allocated the province of
Bohol the amount of P335,893, 770 of which from that budget the rice program has gotten the big appropriation to
the tune of P269, 770, 770 and followed by livestock program (P34, 528, 000), corn program (P20, 833, 00),
HVCDP (P10, 262,000) and organic agriculture program (P500, 000).

Provincial Agriculturist Liza M. Quirog said that PAFES is a true blessing for Bohol in spite of the challenges of
El Nino on the province’s horizon.

Quirog thanked the DA through its OneDA Reform Agenda that is establishing the PAFES as a key strategy
primarily beginning in 2023 and beyond.

She said that in the next three years, Bohol and DA shall further strengthen their linkage in research and
extension using science-based technologies for Bohol’s SMART Agriculture Strategic Agenda together with our
partners – the farm producers, farmers, fisherfolks, their families and enterprises in the rural communities and fueled
by the Mandanas Law.

Quirog bared that the province through OPA is ready to hit the ground running to manifest the ultimate
commitment to make all our lives become better now and in the future. By Atoy Cosap

The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) in the Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh) is defining their
programs and projects that focus on the mitigating measures to lessen  the impact of the El Nino Phenomenon to an
agri-fishery sector that is forecasted to hit the country starting on the third quarter of this year up to the first quarter
next of year.

Leonard Samar from Philippine Atmospheric Geo-Physical Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA)
RADAR Station in Albuquerque, Bohol forecasted that El Nino will take effect from July up to March 2024.
Provincial Agriculturist Liza M. Quirog during the OPA Annual Investment Plan (AIP) 2024  last May 8, 2023,
at Level 007 Hotel, J.A. Clarin, Dampas, Tagbilaran City viewed that if the dry condition would last for nine months
this would be the longest El Nino ever as she recalled that on 1983 the drought lasted for about five months.
Quirog said the presence of this phenomenon would draw so many challenges, thus the OPA would make a plan
that corresponds to the needs of the people aligned with the priorities of the administration of Gov. Erico Aristotle C.
Aumentado.

The provincial agriculturist said that in this abnormal time, the OPA must so prepare considering that the future
of foods in the province would lay down on the shoulder of the OPA and as such the interventions must address the
agri-fishery needs of the Boholanos.

Quirog is optimistic that with the supportive Provincial Budget Officer Peter Ross Retutal who guides on how
the projects and programs are being budgeted and implemented, the OPA could fast track in achieving its mandate.
In that AIP, Retutal presented the budgetary inputs to remind the OPA regarding the planning and budgeting
cycle of which the office-level strategic planning should align with the development agenda of the PGBh.

He reminded the agriculture office of the province that during the preparation of the AIP/budget the first thing to
do is to prioritize and rank the projects. And for the recurring projects, consider the level of appropriations provided
during the current year and evaluate whether the funding requirement is still applicable based on the level of utilized
or unutilized funds.

Retutal added that the proposed budgets must already be supported with Project Procurement Management Plan
(PPMP).

Robert L. Varquez for and in behalf of Provincial Planning and Development Officer Atty. John Titus J. Vistal
presented the updated Provincial Development Framework.
Varquez talked about the Strategic Governance Roadmap and Strategic Change Agenda which include
Environmental Sustainability, Climate Smart-Agriculture, Sustainable Tourism, MSMEs Entrepreneurship, Human
Capital/ Workforce, Governance, Infrastructure and Utilities, Health and Social Services, ICT.

Executive Assistant for Agriculture Nunila M. Pinat delved into the Pillars of Good Governance of the provincial
government which are the following: participatory, transparency, responsibility and accountability that need to be
harmonized and cascaded to the local government units. By Atoy Cosap

The Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 7 (DA-RFO 7) through the Agribusiness and Marketing
Assistance Division (AMAD) will hold an orientation for Young Farmer Challenge Program and Business Model
Canvas mentoring on April 25, 2023, 9:00 A.M. at Agricultural Promotion Center (APC) Convention Hall,
Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

In her letter dated April 18, 2023, Director Angel C. Enriquez, CESO lll, Regional Executive Director -DA-RFO
7 informed Gov. Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado regarding the program.

Dir. Enriquez said this year’s competition, six young farmers from the province of Bohol have the opportunity to
win the most outstanding business model canvas and will receive a P80,000 financial grant.

Enriquez added, that the competition is open for youths aged 18 – 30 years old either individually or as a group.
In her letter, Enriquez invited the provincial agriculturist, provincial veterinarian, and interested youths
especially the out-of-school youths to participate in the said activity.

April Regine I. Dano, 4 H – Club Coordinator, Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) bared that she
already informed the youth organizations in the province about who among them is interested to undergo the said
program.

Dano said that she will closely coordinate with Ligaya A. Ebarita, YFC Regional