Section 34Sec./Art. 34

Personnel Required -

(a) All concerned national government agencies, LGUs and SUCs implementing, regulating, funding and undertaking research, development, training and extension, testing, evaluation and inspection as well as technical audit of irrigation, farm mechanization, post harvest and agro processing facilities, agricultural and biosystems infrastructures, farm-to-market roads, agro-meteorology, forest mechanization development programs, and environmental protection and conservation programs and projects shall employ the required number of agricultural and biosystems engineers, and for this purpose, create various levels of agricultural and biosystems engineer positions;

(b) All agricultural and biosystems engineering facilities/projects supervised and maintained or accredited by the government such as grain/agro-processing complex, slaughterhouse, communal and national irrigation system, agricultural machinery and equipment service centers, and testing and evaluation centers must have at least one (1) registered and licensed agricultural and biosystems engineer;

(c) Firms, companies, partnerships, cooperatives or associations which are engaged in the installation, fabrication, manufacture, distribution or sale of agricultural and biosystems machinery and equipment, facilities and other agricultural and biosystems engineering processes, shall hire or engage the services of at least one (1) licensed agricultural and biosystems engineer;

(d) All contractors of irrigation, farm-to-market roads and agricultural and biosystems structures and facilities shall have at least one (1) registered and licensed agricultural and biosystems engineer as part of their sustaining technical employees; and(e) The following offices and establishments shall also employ or engage the services of at least one (1) or the required number of registered and licensed agricultural and biosystems engineers:

(1) Agro-processing establishments such as rice mills, feed mills, sugar mills, coconut oil mills, fiber extraction processing plants, meat processing plants, fish processing plants, poultry and meat processing plants, food processing plants and agricultural and fishery products storage facilities;

(2) Agro-industrial firms or establishments, corporations and cooperatives and government entities engaged in agricultural, livestock, poultry and fishery production and processing, the operation and maintenance of plant/forest nurseries and parks, and other agricultural and biosystems engineering endeavors;

(3) Financing and banking institutions engaged in providing credit and financial assistance on agribusinesses which are commercial in nature such as irrigation, post harvest facilities, agro-processing and storage, forest products, aquaculture, food and fiber production facilities and machineries; and

(4) Consultancy firms, foundations, nongovernment organizations and other organized groups engaged in providing agricultural and biosystems engineering services relative to management and consultancy, training and extension, research and development and/or the provision of irrigation, post harvest facilities, agro-processing and storage, forest products, aquaculture, food and fiber production facilities and machineries and soil and water conservation.

Provided, That there shall be no understaffing and/or overloading of agricultural and biosystems engineers. The ratio of agricultural and biosystems engineers to clientele shall be such as to reasonably effect a sustained quality of agricultural and biosystems engineering services at all times without overworking the agricultural and biosystems engineers.

The Board shall promulgate guidelines and standards on the required manpower complement of agricultural and biosystems engineers in concerned public and private offices and establishments.