Realizing the vital role of agriculture and fishery to secure food sufficiency in times of crisis, the Provincial Agriculture and Fishery Council (PAFC) of Palawan explored the possibility of sustaining coordination and meetings.

Due to constraints of a face-to-face consultation in compliance with Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) and to ensure the safety of its members and officers, PAFC Palawan conducted a series of meetings through Short Message Service and Facebook messenger on April 15-17 and 20-22, 2020.

PAFC Palawan Chairperson Roger Garinga, together with Palawan Provincial Agriculturist Ariston Arzaga, led the meetings to address the pressing issues of the agriculture and fishery sectors amid the ECQ.

Among the highlights of the modified strategy for consultations is their recommendation to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), through Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar to mandate Local Government Units to  procure agricultural and fishery products directly from farmers and fisherfolk as part of their relief goods for distribution to the victims of the pandemic.

The recommendation seeks to ensure a ready market for the produce of our farmers, offers healthier and fresh food as part of the relief packs and assistance of LGUs in their constituent-farmers to earn and provide for their families.

“We affirm our continual support and fulfillment of our mandate as development-partners of DA, even in these trying times through exploring creative ways to conduct regular meetings and consultations,” said PAFC Palawan Chairperson Garinga. ### (Ysrael Camacho, PDD-SMS, edited by KMS)