Davao City (14 October) -- The Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI) Director Asterio Saliot expressed that DA-ATI shall be the lead agency to advocate and promote information about sustainable upland development (SUD) through agricultural extension delivery which was initiated by the Upland Development Programme in Southern Mindanao (UDP).

Director Saliot, in an interview said that, “DA-ATI shall be the mouthpiece of the (SUD) program, considering that ATI is the apex organization in DA to do extension work and IEC activities of the department.”

Further, the DA-ATI Director noted that they would also support farmer groups who want to see actual SUD implementation through field trips and observation tours to outstanding sites. He also emphasized that their agency will continue to train more barangay extension workers (BEWs) as prospective adopters of SUD.

UDP will also train other extension workers in the LGUs, DA family, and state colleges and Universities (SUCs) in the country to spread the information on the technology in developing and managing the upland areas in the country.

The Sustainable Upland Development (SUD) model consists of the following schemes: Land-Use Based Barangay Development Planning, Barangay Forest Protection Management Scheme, Agricultural Extension Scheme, Labor-Based Routine Road Maintenance Scheme.