DA unit partners with Korean agency

MANILA, Philippines — The Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), recently partnered with South Korea-based Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative in Rural Development Administration (AFACI-RDA) to modernize the agricultural extension system in rural areas.

Under their collaboration, the ATI and AFACI-RDA will implement the Improvement of Rural Agricultural Technology Extension System in Asia (RATES) project in cooperation with the Philippine Extension Advisory Services Network until 2025.

The RATES project will use information and communication technologies (ICT) tools and solutions to address the need for digital inclusion among the marginalized sector in Philippine agriculture.

ICTs are essential tools in boosting the collection, processing, and transmission of quality data and information to more farmers.

However, its application in the country’s agriculture extension and advisory services is not maximized due to different conditions at the local level, the ATI said.

“To meet the demands of the growing agricultural markets locally and abroad, the agriculture and fishery sector must be transformed into a technology-based, advanced, and competitive industries,” ATI assistant director Antonieta Arceo said.

She said the transformation is possible through the provision of production and marketing support services, human resource development, research, development, and extension, rural and non-farm employment, and trade and fiscal incentives.

Through the RATES project, data-driven decision making will be promoted using digital agricultural tools and solutions on the local rural advisory services system of the target local government units and Learning Site for Agriculture (LSA) cooperators during its three-year execution.

Benefitting from this project are agricultural extension workers (AEWs) and LSA cooperators in select municipalities in Region 1.

The ATI said it has been utilizing the potentials of ICT through its capacity development, knowledge bank, and other efforts as the catalyst of the Philippine agricultural and fishery extension system.

It has training programs for various sectors, internship programs, the Digital Farmers’ Program, school-on-the-air, the e-Learning Program, among others. It also offers advisory services through the Farmers’ Contact Center, Farmers’ Information and Technology Services Centers, Rice Crop Manager, radio plugs and programs, and the provision of agri-fishery information, education, and communication materials in various formats.

ATI said the RATES project will help professionalize the delivery of these services and empower AEWs and LSA cooperators to use digital tools and technologies, thereby indirectly benefiting farmers, fishers, and youth in the targeted communities.

Arceo said the Philippine agricultural extension system may move forward in a number of ways, including partnerships and digital transformation toward informed decision-making.

“Partnership and collaboration plus ladderized co-learning approach will make our farmers future-ready,” she said.