Jorge P. Alvero, Jr. has officially assumed office as the new Chairperson of the Regional Agriculture and Fishery Council (RAFC) in Eastern Visayas.

For many rice farmers in Dolores, every planting season comes with uncertainty due to unpredictable weather conditions, pests, diseases, and rising production costs. These factors often determine whether their months of hard work will result in a good harvest or a financial setback.

With the desire of boosting the production of corn in Eastern Visayas, a collaborative meeting gathered the corn and cassava farmers and key stakeholders to discuss salient points on various concerns on corn and feed crops industries in the region.

The road to higher rice productivity may not lie in working harder, but in farming smarter—a vision that took root with the official launch of Rice Derby 2026 on July 19 in Barangay Gap-ang, Dolores, Eastern Samar.

Communication has become as essential to development work as the projects themselves.

In many rural communities, the faces tending the fields are growing older, while fewer young people are choosing to follow in their parents’ footsteps.

Some municipal and provincial Agriculture and Biosystem Engineers in Eastern Samar are now equipped in navigating the RAFMES which will help in the inventory and monitoring of existing farm machineries whether privately owned or government provided.

Focal persons and project officers of the DA’s HVCDP from different regions convened in Eastern Visayas as the DA RFO 8 hosted the FY 2026 Second Quarter National Assessment, reaffirming the agency’s commitment to improving program implementation through collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning.