Agriculture Secretary William Dar has designated new officials who will lead their respective units to help implement the key strategies under the “One DA” framework, and attain a growth target of 2.5 percent this year.

“We have survived the worst, rebooted our policies, and refocused our priorities. The next step is to pursue systematic and strategic approaches to further ‘grow’ the agri-fishery sector in strong and sustained partnerships with local government units, private sector, farmers’ and fishers’ groups, and other national government agencies,” the DA chief said.

“The year 2020 has been full of world-shifting events, bringing us to bear life-changing challenges, especially for the agriculture sector. But this also provided us the opportunity to strive harder and be better,” he said.

“Therefore, we will continuously make the DA family responsive to the exigencies of the times, ensuring that our service is given with utmost integrity and competence,” added Secretary Dar.

“Further, we will vigorously pursue an inclusive approach that cuts across the 12 strategies and involves providing safety nets — such as cash assistance, subsidized credit, and crop insurance — to directly benefit resource-poor farmers and fishers through our flagship ‘Plant, Plant, Plant’ program,” he said.

The 12 strategies include:

• Expansion of farm clustering or “Bayanihan Agri Clusters” or BACs, and social protection measures;
• Implementation of Province-led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Systems (PAFES); • Construction of Agro-industrial Business Corridors (ABCs);
• Consolidation of infrastructure investments;
• Upgrading of postharvest, processing, logistics, and marketing support; • Digital agriculture;
• Aggressive pursuit of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures;
• Escalation of global trade, export development, and promotion;
• Intensification of food safety protocols and regulations;
• Mobilization and empowerment of partners;
• Promotion of “ease of doing business” and transparent procurement; and
• Support for strategic communications.

“Beyond the targets that we have set, let us solidify our commitment to our farmers and fishers, let us serve them with our utmost integrity and competence,” he added during a recent DA management committee meeting.

Leading off the new designates is Dr. Leocadio Sebastian as undersecretary, serving in concurrent capacity as Chief-of-Staff (COS). He formerly served as executive director of the DA’s Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), and regional program leader of the CGIAR research program on climate change, agriculture and food security (CCAFS) in Southeast Asia, based in Vietnam.

Designated as assistant secretary (ASec) for operations is former DA regional field office (RFO) 4-A regional executive director (RED), Engr. Arnel de Mesa, vice ASec Andrew Villacorta who retired.

The other “One DA” officials designated to lead respective RFOs, attached agencies, and staff bureaus are:

• Liza Battad, executive director, Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), and concurrent ASec for regulations;
• Jocelyn Salvador, OIC-executive director, National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS);
• Orlando Ongsotto, NMIS assistant director, field operations;
• Beata Obsioma, NMIS ass’t. dir., administration and finance;
• Ronnie Domingo, OIC-director, Philippine Carabao Center (PCC);
• Claro Mingala, PCC ass’t. dir., production and research;
• Caro Salces, PCC ass’t. dir., administration and finance;
• Reildrin Morales, OIC-dir., Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI);
• Samuel Animas, BAI OIC-ass’t dir., regulations and diseases;
• Rene Santiago, BAI OIC-ass’t dir., production and research;
• Lamberto Cruz, Jr., BAI OIC-ass’t dir., administration and finance;
• Romulo Crucillo, OIC, Region IV, Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA);
• Pablo Montalla, OIC-director, Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM);
• Eduardo Lapuz, RFO3, OIC-regional technical dir. (RTD) for operations;
• Arthur Dayrit, RFO3 OIC-RTD for research and regulations;
• Vilma Dimaculangan, OIC-RED, RFO4-A;
• Avelita Rosales, OIC-RTD for research, RFO 4-A;
• Dionisio Alvindia, OIC-dir., Field Operations Service (FOS);
• Joell Lales, OIC-ass’t. dir., Bureau of Agriculture Research (BAR);
• Angelita Martir, OIC-chief, special project coordination and management assistance division (SPCMAD);
• Jane Bacayo, exec. dir., minimum access volume (MAV), and concurrent head of Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund program management secretariat (ACEF-PMS);
• Nazario Briguera, OIC, BFAR-NFARMC program management center; and
• Usop Pendaliday, Jr., OIC, Mindanao Freshwater Fisheries Technology Center, Cotabato. ### (Rita dela Cruz, DA StratComms)