Philippine Extension and the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture: A Case Study

Higher Agricultural Education Institutions in Asia CASE STUDY FOR THE PHILIPPINES: THE OPEN ACADEMY FOR PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE1 Alexander G. Flor2 U.P. Open University 1. Introduction 1.1. Philippine Extension and the OPAPA: A Backgrounder In the past twenty years, the Philippine agricultural extension service has been severely emasculated by four factors: the abolition of the national agricultural extension system; decentralization or devolution of extension services; the top-down perception of agricultural extension; and rivalry between research and extension in the agricultural technology process. The Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Extension was abolished and replaced by the Agricultural Training Institute during the Aquino administration. A few years later, front-line extension workers found themselves under the payroll of provincial and municipal governments, thus subjugating their budgets and extension priorities to local political forces. Furthermore, a dramatic shift in the attitude towards the Green Revolution of the seventies found extension workers being perceived not as change agents but as agents of the status quo. From the significant role that they played in the seventies, extension workers have been relegated a role merely supportive to research in the agricultural technology process. 3 As a result, the Philippine Extension System is fragmented and dispersed with 17,000 extension workers devolved to local government units. Within the devolved system, the Department of agriculture is still expected to provide technical support to devolved extension workers. However, this has proved to be quite difficult. Hence, extension workers have limited sources of up-to-date information in agriculture. Farmers have limited informed options to make decisions. Under these circumstances, information and communication technology can be brought to bear to link the fragmented system – extension workers, R&D centers, farmers, and markets. To address