Dateline Manila – “You are the key players in our tech transfer program”, said PCARRD’s Executive Director (ED) Patricio S. Faylon, addressing the Regional Coordinators of the Techno Gabay (RTGC) and the Applied Communication (RACC) Programs assembled at the Bayview Park Hotel on December 1─3.
Calling the coordinators the “frontline” in bringing S&T (science and technology) interventions at the doorstep of farmers and entrepreneurs, he then thanked the group for their contribution to the Council’s accomplishments for 2010 – a feat he said was possible because “we worked together and we were committed to our programs to support farmers and entrepreneurs”.
Speaking at the opening program of the Joint RACC and RTGC Meeting on the Pinoy S&T Services for Farmers and Entrepreneurs (PSF), Faylon said that the groups’ commitment has contributed to making the National Agriculture and Resources Research System (NARRS) work. He said further that despite the complexity of the system, “we are moving forward and we have concrete accomplishments to be proud of because we are all committed to making it work”.
In setting the direction for the joint meeting, the ED said that there is a vast and valuable store of experience from the implementation of the Council’s Techno Gabay Program (TGP) in the past ten years. These experiences, he said, should move us forward and ramp up our services to bring tech transfer to a “higher level”. Finally, he stressed that through this upscaling, we could involve more farmers or increase and enhance the services we provide.
In conclusion, he recognized the efforts of the coordinators in the techno transfer program and encouraged them to continue bringing S&T to farmers and entrepreneurs. Also, he urged the group to decide firmly on steps in the institutionalization of the TGP as laid out in Executive Order (EO) 801.
EO 801 encourages local government units to adopt the TGP in their agricultural extension programs.
Incidentally, the regional coordinators met to map out directions, processes, and timelines for the PSF in 2011. Initially, participants gained a strategic and operational overview of the new modality. Then they dovetailed their present tasks to the evolving modality, as well as developed their regional action plans to mobilize their respective stakeholders.
As PSF goes full blast in 2011, the bulk of the load for seeing to the program’s success in the regions lays on the shoulders of the consortium. As such, the regional coordinators will continue to play a vital role in the effective implementation of PSF.