Republic Act No. 680 | Senate of the Philippines Legislative Reference Bureau

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:SECTION 1. For the purpose of consolidating, coordinating, making more systematic and expanding the agricultural extension work now undertaken by separate bureaus and offices in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and for the purpose of disseminating and imparting practical as well as scientific information and knowledge on agriculture, animal husbandry, fishery, soil conservation, forestry and mines, and for carrying out the other provisions of this Act, there is hereby created a bureau to be known as the Bureau of Agricultural Extension under the exclusive control and supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.SEC. 2. "Agricultural extension" as used in this Act shall consist of the diffusion among the people of useful and practical information on agriculture, soil conservation, livestock, fisheries, forest conservation, public lands and natural resources laws, home economics and rural life, in order to encourage their application through field demonstrations, lectures and conferences, publications and other means of imparting information.SEC. 3. The Bureau of Agricultural Extension shall have a head who shall be known as the Director of Agricultural Extension and an assistant who shall be known as Assistant Director of Agricultural Extension, both to be appointed, on recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the Congress of the Philippines and shall receive a compensation at the rate of Seven thousand two hundred pesos per annum and Six thousand pesos per annum, respectively; and shall have in the said Bureau such technical personnel and other employees to be appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources as may be required to carry out the purpose of this Act.Subject to the general supervision and control of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the head of the Bureau of Agricultural Extension shall possess the powers generally conferred upon directors of bureaus.SEC. 4. The Agricultural Extension Division of the Bureau of Plant Industry and the Livestock Extension Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry are hereby abolished in the said Bureaus and their corresponding personnel, appropriations, equipment and facilities, including those under Commonwealth Act Numbered Eighty-five, transferred to the Bureau of Agricultural Extension. Likewise, all positions with their corresponding personnel and appropriation items found in other divisions, sections or services of any bureau or office under the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources actually identified with the carrying out of agricultural extension work are hereby transferred to the Bureau of Agricultural Extension.SEC. 5. Aside from the sums set aside in the Appropriations Law for all the divisions, sections and positions which are by virtue of this Act transferred from their respective bureaus and offices to the Bureau of Agricultural Extension, there is hereby appropriated out of the General Fund in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated the sum of not less than Five hundred thousand pesos annually, which together with the "Agricultural Fund" provided under Commonwealth Act Numbered Eighty-five, shall constitute as the "Agricultural Extension Fund" to be expended by the Director of Agricultural Extension with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources for the salaries and wages of such personnel as may be appointed; for the purchase of necessary office furniture, equipment and supplies; to defray traveling expenses, and for other expenses necessarily involved in the operation of the Bureau of Agricultural Extension and the proper carrying out of its activities and functions: Provided, That the Agricultural Fund of each province shall be used exclusively for agricultural extension work in said province, such as for salaries and wages and traveling expenses of the local extension personnel, except those whose salaries are expressly provided to be paid from the National Fund; furniture and equipment, supplies and materials; construction or rental of buildings; establishment, operation and maintenance of nurseries, demonstration farms and livestock farms; purchase of land for any agricultural extension project, freight, transportation and communication; and other incidental expenses necessary for an efficient carrying out of agricultural extension work in the province: And Provided, further, That any National Funds in excess, of the amount needed for the National Office, the District Offices and the salaries of the Provincial Agricultural Agents, and Provincial Home Demonstration Agents as specified in this Act shall be allocated to the Agricultural Fund of each province. These National Funds shall be apportioned among the provinces as follows: forty per cent on the basis of the number of farms; forty per cent on the basis of cultivable area. For the calculation of these amounts, the definitions send statistics shown in the most recent Census taken by the Bureau of Census shall be used. The remaining twenty per cent of the National Funds, shall be apportioned among the provinces on needs as the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may determine.SEC. 6. The Director of Agricultural Extension shall, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, organize its personnel in such divisions and sections as will insure maximum efficiency and at such standardized scale of salaries as will be commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position involved: Provided, That the appointments of personnel or employees shall be made in accordance with Civil Service laws and regulations and no appointment, whether to be paid from the "Agricultural Fund" under Commonwealth Act Numbered Eighty-five or from the national appropriation shall be made without the knowledge and consent and, in the proper cases, recommendation, of the Director of Agricultural Extension: Provided, further, That in every province there shall be organized a Provincial Agricultural Extension Service consisting of one Provincial Agricultural Agent who shall be the head of the provincial force and whose salary shall not fall below two thousand four hundred pesos per annum in the case of a fifth class province, and one Home Demonstration Agent (a woman), both of whom shall be paid from the National Fund, and necessary technical and clerical force to be paid from the provincial agricultural funds; and that for the purpose of insuring close supervision and direction of the field activities, the country may be divided into an appropriate number of extension districts, each district to be directly supervised by one District Extension Agent for men and one District Home Demonstration Agent for women: And Provided, further, That the Office quarters for the Provincial Extension Agent and the Provincial Home Demonstration Agent shall be provided for by the province and those for other local extension agents by the corresponding local governments concerned.SEC. 7. All laws, rules and regulations inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed.SEC. 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.Approved, April 24, 1952.

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