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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