DILIMAN, Quezon City—Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Director Alfredo Aton urged the heads of all training centers, divisions, and units to step up the Institute’s extension services for farmers, fishers, and other stakeholders.

This was his message as he presented the ATI thrusts for 2020 onwards during the FY 2019 Annual Performance Review and FY 2020 Commitment Signing. In his presentation, Aton gave new strategic, operational, and administrative policy directions for the ATI network.

Starting this year, ATI will perform its mandates following the enhanced extension thematic programs, dubbed as “Extension LEADS: Learn, Exhibit, Advise, Disseminate, and Support.”

‘Learn’ will focus on the provision of training services with the aim to capacitate farmers and fishers to adopt innovative, sustainable, and productive technologies in agriculture.

‘Exhibit’ will focus on the provision of technology demonstration services to introduce and showcase innovative technologies and best practices in agriculture and fisheries extension.

‘Advise’, on the other hand, is to empower farmers and fishers through the provision of farm business advisory services including financial and management advice.

‘Disseminate’ includes development, translation, packaging, and distribution of knowledge products for fast access to agriculture-related information.

Lastly, ‘Support’ deals with the needs of extension agencies for policy support; planning, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms; human resource management budget; and infrastructure and facilities.

Aton also reiterated that the Institute’s initiatives should be consistently anchored with Agriculture Secretary William Dar’s “Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita” vision.

“Our farmers and fishers should be mentored and guided starting with training until they become agripreneurs,” Aton stressed. He added the need to engage the youth in agriculture, not just as young farmers but also as agripreneurs.

Also during the event, officials from the ATI Central Office and 16 training centers received certificates for ISO 9001:2015. The certification confirms the Institute’s compliance to the Quality Management System standards, particularly on the development and provision of training, knowledge products and services, accreditation of Extension Services Providers, scholarships, alliance-building, national extension system planning, and monitoring and evaluation.

TUV-SUD Asia Pacific officials Rose Anne Angeles and Stephen Yap awarded the certificates to Aton, together with Assistant Director Rosana Mula and the training center directors.

The FY 2019 Annual Performance Review and FY 2020 Commitment Signing was held on January 22-23, 2019 at the ATI Rural Development and Education Center in this city.