DILIMAN, Quezon City—To improve its programs, activities, and projects for fiscal year (FY) 2021, Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) officials and planning officers gathered for a week-long evaluation and target-setting activity.

ATI Director Alfredo Aton led the undertaking and stressed that all of the Institute’s initiatives for 2021 should be consistently aligned with Agriculture Secretary William Dar’s “Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita” vision. To attain this, Aton emphasized the need to practice the ease of doing business.

“We need to provide services to our farmers and fishers in a timely manner. We should act quickly on their needs,” he said.

In line with the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) priority programs, the Institute will improve its extension approaches to serve all stakeholders across the value chain, which is from production to marketing. Aton urged the ATI workforce to strengthen the linkage between farmers and investors so that the former is able to market their products more effectively.

“If we only focus on production, we will not be able to help farmers attain a higher income,” he stressed.

As the Institute moves forward with its thrusts, Aton called on the planning officers to “think outside the box” and come up with new initiatives that would be advantageous for farmers and fishers aside from the usual training.

During the activity, the national and DA guidelines for plan and budget preparation for 2021 were presented. ATI division chiefs and training center directors, likewise, presented their respective plans and budget proposals.

About 40 participants from the central office and network of training centers were present in the activity held on January 7-9, 2020 at the Sulo Riviera Hotel in this city.