LAGAWE, IFUGAO — Acting Provincial Agriculturist Catherine Buenaventura said recently she kept herself busy praying and working extra hard while waiting for the results of the National Organic Agriculture Achievers Awards. She waited for days, weeks and even months for the announcement of winners.
In the category of “The Most Outstanding Provincial Focal Person in Organic Farming,” Mrs. Buenaventura represented the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) in this prestige-laden competition. She competed against 16 other regional nominees. Technically speaking, she went up against 80 other provincial focal persons in the country.
Then came the Big Day in Cagayan de Oro City where she was adjudged the national awardee. In short, she earned the distinction of being the Best of the Very Best in the Philippines. She received Php 50,000.
The conferment program was held at The Atrium of the Limketkai Center. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol graced the occasion.
Days after coming back to the capital town of Lagawe from this famed city in Mindanao, Buenaventura expressed her heartfelt gratitude to countless individuals in and out of the agriculture sector who also prayed for her success.
“Our prayers were certainly answered,” she said.
“Prayers are important because it reflects a personal relationship with God. Whenever we pray, we open ourselves to divine action,” she quipped.
In an exclusive interview with the ZigZag Weekly, Buenaventura in stressing the importance of hard work and discipline, explained that her triumph is “a great opportunity to promote Ifugao’s organic farming to a much bigger market and will surely bring huge and direct benefits to the people.”
With the new-found success, the articulate head of the Provncial Agriculture. Environment and Natural Resources Office (PAENRO) has joined hands with the national government to help farmers and fisher folk take advantage of priority programs of the Duterte administration in organic agriculture.
Buenaventura said President Duterte has introduced various programs and projects to empower farmers organizations to reduce poverty, provide jobs and attain all-inclusive growth.
The empowerment of impoverished farmers through the initiatives of Agriculture Secretary Pinol has given them additional resources to upgrade their infrastructure, anti-poverty undertakings and delivery of fundamental services.
“Dedication to work is at the heart of genuine public service at all times,” she said.
“The close coordination and collaboration between and among PAENRO personnel and those in the agriculture sector is crucial to sustain development and achieve economic prosperity, most especially in remote barangays in Ifugao,” she added.
A number of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs) in the province said Mrs. Buenaventura’s much-heralded victory may also result to further inspiring and motivating thousands of farmers and fishermen to work harder as a means of increasing their yield.
Moving forward, production is expected to continue to climb up, helping the Ifugao economy grow at a faster pace. Ifugao is still one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines.
Agriculture is not performing well in this upland Cordillera province thanks to poor infrastructure, backward practices and cultural hang ups of farmers and neglect for a long time of the officialdom.
Buenaventura’s illustrious service record becomes a model of sorts to follow if well-meaning officials in this part of the nation really wish to achieve inclusive growth.
Many may not know it, but Mrs. Buenaventura’s achievement is indeed a record-breaking one. She bagged the same award in 2013. The National Organic Agriculture Achievers Awards is one of the premier annual awards programs of the Department of Agriculture. The Awards honors the achievements and contributions of individuals, organizations and local government units in the agriculture sector.
Then and now, she generously spent much of her time leading farmers, fisher folk and rural women as well as youth to obtain higher incomes and experience better conditions.
‘Without a doubt, she is a “pioneering leader.” She imparted to the farmers to become productive farmers by shunning the use of pesticides, herbicides and other harmful substances.
‘ Truly, her leadership qualities have a profound impact on the farmers. For one, she makes every effort to distribute key farm implements in Ifugao’s 11 towns. She also took a firm and principled stand in saying a “loud no” to poor and shabby treatment of farmers.
‘Incidentally, two points counted most in spelling out Mrs. Buenaventura’s supremacy in the competition. She is known for giving ample emphasis in project identification and implementation. She also enjoys an enviable reputation of having the trait of being on top of formulating and implementing timely and doable roadmap for Ifugao’s organic farming. This path easily lays the vision, goals, targets, priorities and strategies to be implemented in a short and long-term period.
One would think that with such mindset, distinguish background and checkered civil service record, Mrs. Buenaventura would only be steering such a vital office in an “acting” capacity only. Today, she enjoyed a very good head start for Governor Pedro Mayam-o, who along with former Governor and now Provincial Administrator Albert Pawingi witnessed how Mrs. Buenaventura shared the limelight during the well-attended Cagayan de Oro City awards rites, to finally, once and for all, to appoint her the Provincial Agriculturist- for good and for the common good.
Looking ahead, Mrs. Buenaventura’s exemplary public service portfolio will serve as the focal point of a province in search of a capacity to pursue relevant development policies to plan, design, implement and monitor programs and projects that address pressing concerns in the agriculture sector and the state interventions all meant to promote good governance.
In a related development, Board Member James Frederick Dulnuan filed recently a resolution at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan congratulating and commending Mrs. Buenaventura for her accomplishment.
“We will always support the programs, projects and activities of acting Provincial Agriculturist Catherine Buenaventura because we believe that the farmers and fisher folk are the ones who will help significantly chart the future of our province,” Board Member Dulnuan said.
The resolution’s co-sponsor is Board Member Noli Maguiwe, chairman of the committee on agriculture, environment and natural resources.
The resolution serves a follow up to the growing list of pro-farmer initiatives of Mrs. Buenaventura, all aimed at putting an end to the hardships of farmers.
“The government aims to bring development planning to a higher level by considering the interplay of major officials of the provincial government and I’m so glad that Mrs. Buenaventura is one of our key partners to enable the province to maximize the momentum in elevating the agriculture sector to greater heights,” he added.
Board Members Dulnuan and Maguiwe partnered with the PAENRO to underline the importance of a collective official approach to tackle the most pressing challenge of the ill-effects of fertilizers. In short, there is an inspirational relationship between the influential and powerful Sangguniang Panlalawigan and the highly-performing PAENRO.
Both lawmakers emphasized the shared responsibility of the government, PAENRO and the public to take action against unsafe practices in the fields, including a strong commitment to provide training programs for farmers. **By Anthony A. Araos
