DILIMAN, Quezon City—Marking his first anniversary in office, Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar addressed the nation with his State of the Philippine Agriculture Report.

Dar emphasized the plans and strategies on the implementation of different programs for the sector. These include modernization which aims for the utilization and promotion of new and appropriate technologies in farming and fisheries.

MALATE, Manila—Local government representatives of 21 provinces in different parts of the country shared their best practices and accomplishments in developing their respective rice industries as they convened during the Technical Paper Presentation for the 2019 Rice Achievers Awards (RAA).

URDANETA CITY, Pangasinan—With one full year since the enactment of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), the Department of Agriculture (DA) and partner agencies, in cooperation with the local governments of Manaoag and Urdaneta, Pangasinan, conducted a national event to commemorate the law’s first anniversary of implementation.

The Department of Agriculture (DA), through its bureaus and implementing agencies including the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), annually celebrates the National Rice Awareness Month (NRAM) every November.

The celebration aims to encourage every Filipino to do their share of RICEponsibility by valuing every grain of rice and eating healthier rice to benefit themselves, other consumers, rice farmers, and the country as a whole.

Over 6,500 farmers and agricultural extension workers (AEWs) were briefed on the services under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) through a series of information caravans nationwide.

This was led by the Agricultural Training Institute’s (ATI) network of training centers, in close coordination with the regional field offices of the Department of Agriculture and the concerned local government units.

CLARK, Pampanga—Efforts to fully implement the Rice Tariffication Law continues as concerned agencies in the Rice Extension Services Program (RESP), under the law’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), convened for a writeshop for related training modules.

Spearheaded by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), the writeshop gathered focal persons in training, curriculum writers, and the communications team of the RCEF-RESP Technical Working Group to harmonize training tools, delivery plans, and activities under the program.