The Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) encourages interested civil society organizations (CSOs) to register and obtain accreditation as partners of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the co-implementation of their programs, projects, and activities in order to ensure that agriculture programs are effectively carried out.
Accredited CSOs participate in the DA's projects and activities as implementers or as recipients. The DA intends to boost good governance in the agriculture industry, promote openness and accountability, and increase the agency's absorptive capacity through leveraging citizen involvement through accredited CSOs.
By conducting stakeholder discussions, dialogues, and participatory monitoring of DA programs and projects, the PCAF—the attached agency devoted to promoting public involvement in DA programs and projects—facilitates these broadly based participatory development methods and processes.
“PCAF recognizes the role of CSOs in community development. Through this, organizations will be able to participate in government decision-making and implementation of agriculture and fisheries programs and projects,” PCAF Executive Director Nestor Domenden said in a statement.
Accreditation process
According to the PCAF, civic organizations, cooperatives, non-governmental organizations, people's organizations, indigenous people's organizations, and non-profit organizations that are involved or have expertise in agriculture and fisheries are all eligible for accreditation.
“CSOs seeking to be accredited as implementing partners must have a proven track record and good standing in undertaking civil society works. CSOs applying for accreditation as beneficiaries must have the appropriate social preparation from the government agency providing the grant of financial assistance," it said.
The PCAF-chaired National Technical Committee facilitates the accreditation of eligible CSOs whose major areas of operation span more than one region or are of national scope.
The PCAF said CSOs seeking to be accredited on a national level must: (1) Prepare a duly accomplished application form which can be downloaded from the PCAF website; (2) Scan the certified true copy of all the requirements, including a Certificate of Compliance for cooperatives registered under the Cooperative Development Authority; and (3) Email the complete documents to the CSO National Technical Secretariat at [email protected].