DA-RFO 10 RAED OIC-Chief Engr. Pedro U. Bergado, Jr. (left) reports on the procurement and delivery of farm machineries and equipment of the region and introduces all RAED staff to BAFE OIC-Director Engr. Cristy Cecilia P. Polido and EPDSD OIC-Chief Noemi L. Carpio in the presence of DA-RFO 10 Assistant Regional Director Engr. Roxana H. Hojas, CESO IV.
BAFE VISITS DA-RFO 10 FOR ORIENTATION, ASSESSMENT MEETING
As a newly-formed bureau under the DA, the Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE) visited the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10) on January 25, 2018 to provide an overview of the functions of the bureau, discuss the roles of the RFOs in the new set-up, and to assess accomplishments of the region in 2017.
As mandated, BAFE will serve as the central engineering arm of the entire DA and its attached agencies, in which its functions include coordinating, overseeing and monitoring of national planning and implementation of agri-fishery engineering farm-to-market roads and other agri-fishery infrastructure projects; to assist in the mechanization programs; and to provide technical assistance to the operations of the agricultural engineering divisions of the DA-RFOs (RAED).
According to the first director of the bureau, Engr. Cristy Cecilia P. Polido, it is in this respect that BAFE has visited the RAED of DA-RFO 10 to get to know their regional counterpart in its operations and to highlight the importance of the partnership between the bureau and the RFOs in the overall engineering works of DA.
As provided in the new set-up, in addition to the current function of RAEDs which is to oversee the planning, implementation and monitoring of infrastructure and postharvest projects, three functions are added as per Section 37 of RA 10601, otherwise known as “Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization (AFMech) Law,” Director Polido mentioned.
These additional functions are to “formulate the Regional Agricultural and Fishery Mechanization Plan, to train the farmers and fisherfolk on agri-fishery mechanization technologies and practices and to assist the Agricultural Machinery Testing and Evaluation Center (AMTEC) in field testing of agri-fishery machinery and equipment,” she added.
BAFE and RAED 10 employees, led by OIC-Chief Engr. Pedro U. Bergado, Jr. also had assessment on the farm equipment, infrastructure and irrigations projects of DA-RFO 10 in 2017. Engr. Bergado reported that most of the machineries were already delivered to recipients while a few are still up for delivery. With this, Engr. Bergado committed to have these remaining machineries delivered before January 2018 ends. Infrastructure and irrigation projects that were not fully completed upon reporting at DA Central Office last December 2017 were assured by the chief to be completed before January 2018 ends, as well.
Aside from the meeting, DA-RFO 10 have also assisted BAFE in their visit to cassava processing facilities at Phil. Agro Industrial Corporation, Baungon, Bukidnon and at the National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR), Talakag, Bukidnon. The said visit was an initiative by BAFE and DA-RFO II to benchmark on the machineries and other necessary equipment used by these companies for the 25-million cassava processing facility project of DA-RFO II. #