PASAY CITY, Metro Manila—Farmers from Central Luzon and CALABARZON were once again front and center at the Agricultural Training Institute’s (ATI) exhibit during AgriLink/FoodLink/AquaLink 2019.

Owners of three Learning Sites for Agriculture (LSAs) and one Extension Service Provider (ESP) joined ATI staff for another year in the said expo to promote farming as a viable and sustainable business venture. These are Eco Natural Integrated Farm in Tarlac; Vilela's Farm and MoCA Family Farming RLearning Center in Batangas; and Forest Wood Garden in Laguna.

In the three-day event, the guest LSA and ESP co-operators were able to showcase and market their products which include mushroom chicharon, organic red and brown rice, dragon fruit wine, honey, coffee, herbs and spices, local fruits, black pepper seedlings, vanilla cuttings, native plant seedlings, among others. They also provided advisory services to clients looking for information on different agricultural technologies and practices.

Likewise, Eco Natural Integrated Farm owner Emma Tolentino served as resource person on mushroom production and processing as part of the seminar series during the expo.

“We are thankful for ATI for always giving us an opportunity to join their exhibit. Some of the customers already remember us and said that they would always come back because they know that we’d have something new to offer and that we seemed to give mini lectures in our booth. Our trip has always been worth it,” Vilela’s Farm owner Camela Toreja said. She and her husband have been joining ATI for AgriLink since 2017.

AgriLink/FoodLink/AquaLink is an annual event led by the Foundation for Resource Linkage and Development, Inc. (FRLD). It aims to provide an avenue to showcase products, information, technologies, market linkages, and promotions to the whole agribusiness community and the general public.

Senator Cynthia Villar, Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Operations Ariel Cayanan and other officials, FRLD representatives, and industry players from the private sector graced the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the event.

Around 2,500 individuals visited ATI’s booth where they received information on e-Learning, certification of LSAs, schedule of free seminars nationwide, and other government programs and services for farmers. They also took home free reading materials on different commodities and farming technologies.

Aside from this, ATI also took the opportunity to promote the programs and services related and in support to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund under the Rice Tariffication Law.

This year’s AgriLink/FoodLink/AquaLink was held last October 3-5 at the World Trade Center in this city.