DILIMAN, Quezon City – The Civil Service Commission (CSC) commended the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) for the exemplary public service of its frontliners and workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CSC awarded an online certificate of appreciation on November 18, 2022 to the ATI as one of the awardees of the 2022 Philippine Civil Service Anniversary (PCSA) Appreciation Program held on September 28, 2022 at the CSC Central Office, Constitution Hills, Diliman.
"Transforming Public Service in the Next Decade: Honing Agile and Future-Ready Servant-Heroes" is the PCSA's 10-year overarching theme. It captures the collective experience of the government workforce in the new normal and pushes for digital transformation and innovations to uphold public service excellence and continuity. This year is the PCSA’s 122nd month-long celebration focused on resilience.
The month-long event included Linggo ng Lingkod ng Bayani for the first week, Linggo ng Paglilinang ng Yamang Tao for the second week, Linggo ng Malasakit for the third week, and Linggo ng Pasasalamat for the fourth week.
The celebration commemorates the establishment of the entire Philippine civil service on September 19, 1900 by virtue of Public Law No. 5.
ATI’s strategies implemented to cope with pandemic
Frontliners in the agriculture and fisheries sectors are one of the important manpower during the pandemic to ensure continuous and unhindered food production.
Aside from ensuring compliance with basic health protocols and physical distancing, some of the strategies of the ATI to cope with the effects of the pandemic are the designation of health monitoring officers per unit, division, or office and the facilitation of vaccination of the employees. Around 96 percent of the workers have been vaccinated while 40 percent had booster shots as of August 2022.
These measures were instrumental in the ATI’s continuous service and implementation of programs and projects for the development of agriculture and fisheries sectors.
Contributions during pandemic
The KADIWA ni Ani at Kita is one of the initiatives of the Department of Agriculture (DA) which started off at the ATI grounds to directly connect food producers to consumers.
Techno Gabay Program partners such as Farmers’ Information Technology and Technology Services (FITS) Centers and Magsasaka Siyentista (MS) continued providing agricultural services to address the needs of the farming and fishing communities, as well as households in their locality.
Cooperators of Learning Sites for Agriculture (LSAs) and Extension Service Providers (ESPs) also assisted their communities by helping farmers sell their products online, providing easy access to food to households, and extending agri-fisheries knowledge.
The Institute’s e-Learning program has also become an alternative platform to acquire knowledge and skills in agriculture and fisheries. To date, there are more than 70 online courses that can be accessed in the e-Learning portal.
To get a full grasp of the ATI’s agricultural interventions during COVID-19, download the special issue of ACCESS published in April 2020 at https://bit.ly/3gro9AU. ###
