On June 3, 2022, participants of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund – Rice Extension Service Program (RCEF-RESP) Rice Specialists’ Training Course Batch 12 (RCEF RSTC Batch 12) will be going home as Rice Specialists after successfully completing the season-long training at the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) Agusan Experiment Station.

After 14 weeks of in-depth training on the PalayCheck System, the 31 Agriculture Extension Workers (AEW) from regions 10, 11 and 13 finally graduate as rice specialists. The training shall help these AEWs to be technically competent and fully equipped to respond to challenges and complexities in the agricultural environment.

The RCEF RSTC Batch 12 is the 4th batch of rice specialists produced by DA-PhilRice Agusan under RCEF-Extension Program. Following this, another batch of RSTC will be conducted with participants from region 9.

The RCEF-Extension Program is a component of Republic Act 11203 or Rice Tariffication Law, which allots P10 billion fund every year for rice farmers. The program is a six-year government initiative implemented by Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice), Department of Agriculture-Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (DA-PhilMech), Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI), and Department of Agriculture-Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in partnership with local government units and other intermediaries. (DA-PhilRice Agusan, FB)