DILIMAN, Quezon City—Farmer entrepreneurs and agribusiness enthusiasts are taking the opportunity to gain knowledge on how to expand their ventures through the Agricultural Training Institute’s (ATI) free seminars.

In the Free Seminar on Product Packaging and Labelling, the latest of this series, some 260 individuals from Metro Manila learned various ways on packaging and labelling agricultural products and its importance in terms of marketing.

DILIMAN, Quezon City—To digitally innovate ways in responding to farmers’ information needs and complaints, the Department of Agriculture (DA) recently launched the Fisheries and Agriculture Response Management (FARM) Citizens Application.

The FARM App is a 24/7 online-based help desk developed in coordination with key agencies and bureaus of the Department. It aims to address questions and concerns from farmers, particularly on plant and animal disease management, through chat or live messaging feature.

DILIMAN, Quezon City—After his 11-month on-farm training through the Young Filipino Farm Leaders’ Training Program in Japan (YFFLTPJ), John Paul Cabangal, from Region XII, is now ready to adopt a science-based method of farming which he learned from his Japanese farmer-mentor.

Cabangal, who leads the 2018 batch of the YFFLTPJ as president, spoke about this during the assessment and post-evaluation activity facilitated for them by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI).

GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Key players in the development and coordination of the food safety regulation training program for the Department of Agriculture (DA) sat down for a writeshop to come up with standard modules on food safety.

Food safety focal persons and selected regulatory officers of the DA constituted the core group of module developers. The modules will be used in capability-building and technology dissemination activities for food business operators, food handlers, and the local government units.

BAGUIO CITY—To collectively enhance data presentation through the Rice Crop Manager (RCM) Advisory Service, involved key agencies gathered for the RCM User Database Workshop.

Some 15 participants from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI); Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Offices in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Region I, and Region III; and the Agricultural Training Institute attended the activity. They provided significant inputs to further develop the RCM Advisory Service, particularly the RCM Statistics.

DILIMAN, Quezon City—Rural-based organizations (RBOs) are proactive partners of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in uplifting lives, especially in the grassroots level.

To further shape this role, 4-H Club and RBO focal persons, together with selected RBO national officers, of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) drew up programs and projects for 2019. These include the capacity-enhancement for various RBOs, a farm family congress, and youth agri-skills development programs, among others.