LEYTE – The Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) launched the AFC Patrol during the back-to-back AFC Visayas Congress and Areawide Participatory Performance Review and Planning Workshop in Leyte on October 11-13, 2022.

AFC Patrol, an online platform for participatory monitoring and tracking, is a mechanism that will enable the Agriculture and Fishery Council (AFC) leaders and members to provide timely and accurate situation reports from the community level.

"This will be a proactive stance that the AFCs shall be actively involved in to assist the DA with fast reliable information that guides our principals in coming up with the right and relevant decisions and interventions for our farmers and fisherfolk," said PCAF Executive Director Nestor D. Domenden.

The private sector volunteers are requested to be the "ears and eyes" of the Department of Agriculture at the local level by responsibly reporting issues and concerns on the supply, demand, and prices of agricultural and fishery commodities along the supply chain in their respective areas.

The volunteer network will also use the AFC Patrol to validate national and local price monitoring of concerned DA agencies.

"A set of guidelines is already being crafted to this effect that will require the approval of the AFCs as to the veracity of the prices of local commodities from the farmgate to the retail prices," said Dir. Domenden.

Verified situation reports at the community level will be forwarded to the DA for appropriate interventions or actions.

The AFC is a private-sector-led nationwide movement of 10,474 organizations of agriculture and fishery volunteers that serve as the government’s advisory and monitoring arms.

The Visayas Congress is in partnership with the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office VIII.(DA-PCAF)