Alfredo S. Aton, ATI National Director, meets the Center Directors of ATI Regional Training Centers in Mindanao during the ATI Mindanao Zonal Meeting hosted by ATI-RTC 13 located in Brgy. Los Angeles, Butuan City.
LOS ANGELES, Butuan City – Alfredo S. Aton, National Director of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), was the guest of honor during the recently concluded ATI Mindanao Zonal Meeting that was held last July 1-2, 2021 and hosted by ATI-RTC 13 for the second time in a row.
The meeting was attended by five Center Directors of ATI Regional Training Centers in Mindanao namely: Alicia Rose D. Nebreja (ATI-RTC 9), Maria Lydia A. Echavez (ATI-RTC 10), Dante G. Esguerra (ATI-RTC 11), Abdul I. Daya-an (ATI-RTC 12), and Samuel L. Calonzo (ATI-RTC 13). Unlike last year which had sports activities and had more participants, this year however, was simpler and only 20 were invited to ensure strict health and safety protocols were followed.
Arrival, registration, and billeting of participants took place on the afternoon of July 1. In the evening was the Center Directors’ Meeting which was attended by Director Aton where he answered questions especially along with the Mandanas Ruling.
The morning of July 2 was packed with various activities. These included the ribbon-cutting ceremony and blessing of the newly completed Meat Processing Hub building. This was followed shortly by the unveiling of ATI-RTC 13 marker which highlighted the completion of several infrastructure projects within the office premises. Also, several Learning Site for Agriculture (LSA) certificates and extension support were awarded by Director Aton to farmers. Next was the launching of the Knowledge Resource Center (KRC) System Kiosk which is a computer program that was developed specifically to automate the cataloging, recording, and inventory of Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials.
Thereafter, a photo opportunity took place before Director Aton and the participants were toured around the “Food Park nATIn” project and the FFARMS demonstration site of ATI-RTC 13. During his closing message to the ATI-RTC 13 staff, he allayed fears of mass retrenchments since ATI, according to him, will not be scrapped under the Mandanas Ruling and that not much is expected to change since only direct engagements with farmers will discontinue starting next year.