Assessment on the Certification and Enhancement of Agricultural Training Institute Learning Sites for Agriculture

Assessment of the ATI Learning Sites for Agriculture (LSA) Program. The LSA Program started in 2011 with the idea that "the most salient requirement for farming is experience." It describes how LSAs were set up as government-accredited private extension service providers to showcase theoretical farming concepts and conduct hands-on training. The program, formed under Administrative Order 22 (2008) of the Department of Agriculture, has four main objectives: to improve extension services, to increase private sector participation, to acknowledge the efforts of private institutions, and to support various training programs in agriculture and fisheries. The LSAs aim to transform promising farm areas into model farms with appropriate practices and strategies, while also serving as field laboratories for on-the-job learning.

The report presents an evaluation carried out by Brain Trust Inc., covering seven specific objectives such as characterizing socio-economic attributes of co-operators, measuring the program's effectiveness, and determining the sustainability of the sites. It also examines the significance of the program relative to other DA initiatives, its strengths and weaknesses, and whether it is finally worth the investment. Additionally, the report details the growth and evolution of the program, the methodology used in the assessment, and offers recommendations for future improvements of the LSA Program in support of the modernization of the Philippine agriculture and fisheries extension system.