In 2025, the Department of Agriculture (DA) capacity builder, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in CALABARZON, equipped a total of 7,084 individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to help steer a competitive and prosperous agriculture and fisheries sectors towards a vibrant economy.
As the catalyst and knowledge bank of the Philippine agriculture and fishery extension (AFE) system, the DA-ATI CALABARZON trained 4,783 farmers; 1,209 agricultural extension workers (AEWs) from various local government units; 555 DA staff; and 537 students, agri-enthusiasts, and individuals from the general public.
Training and other extension initiatives by the DA-ATI CALABARZON primarily focused on good agricultural practices, farm mechanization, climate-resilient agriculture, smart farming, and integrated nutrient and pest management.
These programs were not limited to the production aspect, as the agency also equipped the aforementioned individuals with technologies along the agricultural value chain, including post-harvest technologies, processing, and marketing—across different banner programs like rice, corn, livestock, Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP), High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP), organic agriculture, and National Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Program (NUPAP), and additional extension services.
"Sobra po ang pasasalamat ko sa ATI CALABARZON dahil ine-ensure po nila na may bago silang kaalamang naihahatid at nakakarating po ito sa aming mga farmers. Sa training na ito, privilege po para sa akin na matuto at ma-experience 'yung mga hands-on kung paano ba bumuo ng cacao-coconut fusion products, na totoo pong helpful para mas ma-maximize pa 'yung gamit ng raw materials and ma-improve 'yung pwedeng pagkakitaan ng mga farmers," said Carla Pante, one of the farmer participants who shared her impression of the Training on Coconut and Cacao Fusion: Value Chain-based Product Development and Market Integration last July.
John Mark Sto. Domingo, an agricultural and biosystems engineer from Teresa, Rizal, also shared how the DA-ATI CALABARZON helps extension workers like him in performing their duties at the grassroots level.
In his impression of the Training on Testing and Evaluation of Agricultural and Fisheries Machinery held last June, he said: “This training is a great help for me to understand how procurement and acceptance testing work in acquiring farm machinery. That’s why every one of us ay sobrang eager ding pumasa – ‘cause it will give us a chance to evaluate the machinery that we’re acquiring more thoroughly. Because in the end, we want our farmers to receive those interventions na up-to-standards and fit talaga sa kung ano ang needs nila.”
Moreover, social technologies, including training facilitation and management, and extension communication, were also imparted to participants, especially AEWs, farmer-leaders, and farm cooperators.
These accomplishments reflect the unwavering dedication of the DA-ATI CALABARZON in empowering its stakeholders through a resilient and responsive agriculture and fisheries extension system in the region.
Meanwhile, Dr. Rolando Maningas, Center Director of the DA-ATI CALABARZON, shared a glimpse of the agency’s plans as it gears towards 2026.
“For 2026, we will solidify our efforts to modernize and mechanize the agri-fishery sector by reinforcing technologies, innovations, quality extension services, inclusivity, and skills-based trainings that respond to the evolving needs of our farmers and fishers,” said Dr. Maningas.
He added, “At the same time, we will strengthen our role as a nexus in empowering and catalyzing our extension workers as key change agents in the region, ensuring that our services and their impacts are met on the ground and will truly lead to 'masaganang agrikultura at maunlad na ekonomiya.'"
