One of the key components of the government’s national agenda for poverty alleviation and national development is modernized agriculture.

To ensure the efficient management and centralized monitoring of the government’s financial resources,  Executive Order (EO) No. 148, Series of 2021  was signed transferring the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) from the Department of Agriculture (DA) to the Department of Finance. The move intends to align PCIC’s plans and programs with national development policies and overall fiscal plan in order to effectively perform its mandate of providing insurance protection to farmers in the most cost-efficient manner.

EO No. 148 also called for the reorganization of the PCIC Board of Directors, which prompted the need for selecting a representative of subsistence farmers in the PCIC Board based on a nationwide selection process.

As the focal entity of DA, the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), in coordination with DA-Regional Field Offices (RFOs) and the assistance of PCIC Regional Offices (ROs) and Local Government Units (LGUs), will lead and supervise the entire process. The nomination and selection will be done through the Offices of the Provincial Agriculturists (OPAg) and the nationwide network of Agricultural and Fishery Councils (AFCs).

On November 26, 2021, PCAF started conducting the information drive by posting the call-for-nominations advisory, along with the requirements, qualifications, timeline of activities, and necessary forms, on the agency website.

Nominees for PCIC Board Member for the subsistence farmers’ sector are preferably representatives from agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations (ARBOs) or farmers’ cooperatives or associations (FCAs).

Regional and national farmers’ organizations are requested to nominate members from their provincial chapters to OPAgs, where the members being nominated are based.  In support of amplifying women’s voices in the agri-fishery sector, nominating organizations are also encouraged to recommend qualified women members.

The PCIC Board of Directors will convene in February 2022 to deliberate on the results of the national selection process, which would include resolutions of appeals or oppositions, if any.

Based on its deliberation, the Board may then opt to recommend the nominee of its choice or submit the shortlist of contenders to the President for selection and appointment. | JCL