MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary William Dar is this year’s Asia CEO awardee for the public sector for his outstanding achievements and contributions to the country as a whole.
Dar was recently chosen as the Lifetime Contributor awardee for the public sector by the board of judges of Asia CEO Awards 2020.
Asia CEO Awards chair Richard Mills said Dar is cited for his leadership and unwavering efforts to transform Philippine agriculture into a dynamic high-growth sector.
“William Dar is a global leader in agriculture governance and research. As current secretary, he is leading efforts to transform Philippine agriculture into a dynamic high-growth sector to speed up the country’s recovery and poverty reduction,” Mills said.
He said that the award-giving body put a premium on Dar’s initiative in making the DA transparent and “erase the old-stricken image of a corrupt-driven department.”
Dar was appointed by President Duterte in August 2019. He also had a one-year stint as DA chief during the Estrada administration.
He is the first Filipino to lead a global agricultural research institute, serving an unprecedented three five-year terms as director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in India.
While at ICRISAT, the government of India conferred on him the prestigious MS Swaminathan Award for leadership in agriculture. The award is India’s version of the World Food Prize.
Upon his return to the Philippines in 2015, Dar led the InangLupa Movement that advocated for the modernization and industrialization of Philippine agriculture, guided by an inclusive, science-based, resilient, and market-oriented development strategy.
Dar said the recognition by the Asia CEO Awards provides workers and leaders in the public sector with the much-needed push to continuously strive for excellence in their respective agencies for the good of their clienteles and the country, and to build a career based on accomplishments.
“It gives me a certain level of comfort that my career in agriculture, spanning four decades, has contributed in helping farmers and fisherfolk secure the quality of life they richly deserve,” Dar said.
“This protracted crisis has highlighted, more than ever, the importance of food adequacy and nutrition security to protect the people’s welfare during such a difficult period, as well as the critical role of the agri-fishery sector in rebuilding our economy under the new normal,” he said.
The DA chief said the DA would continue to perform its task guided by the principles of good governance, transparency, consultative engagement and with greater sense of urgency.
The Asia CEO Awards Board includes economist Bernie Villegas, former Pag-IBIG Fund CEO Darlene Berberabe, former president of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Don Felbaum, world-renowned architectural design and planning expert Jun Palafox, former Management Association of the Philippines president Marife Zamora, and Mills, former president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.