Dr. William Dar Named Agriculture Secretary

President Duterte has appointed agriculture expert William Dar as his new agriculture secretary.  Dar replaces Emmanuel Piñol, who resigned on June 27 but also sought to be transferred to the Mindanao Development Authority, which President Duterte approved last month. The new Cabinet appointee, who hails from Ilocos Sur, earned his college and doctoral degrees at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, where he pursued studies in horticulture.  In 1987, Dar became the first director of the Department of Agriculture’s new research arm at the time, the Bureau of Agricultural Research.

He was chosen as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in 1987 for his work in agriculture.  Three years later, he received the Outstanding Young Scientist of the Year award from the National Academy of Science and Technology. In 1998, Dar briefly served as then President Joseph Estrada’s acting agriculture secretary and, subsequently, presidential adviser on food security.  The next year, Dar became the first Filipino director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, an India-based global agricultural crop research institute.  

Dar had previously served as executive director of the Los Baños-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development.  The council is the sectoral planning body of the Department of Science and Technology.  He is also president of the Inanglupa Movement, which pursues poverty reduction and food security, among other economic advocacies.