On 28 Feb. 2018, the Dept. of Agriculture held at its Manila Office of the Bureau of Plant Industry a 3-day Forum on Standardization of Produce across the country. This is an off-shoot of the ASEAN Meetings where the countries in this region want to eventually standardize produce to facilitate trade.  It was a serious gathering of farmers from the different parts of the country to try to improve production, marketing and distribution.  At the Forum, STC was seated beside the Administrator of the BPI.  He expounded on how coops can help farmers in production and distribution and the need for a clear certifying body for organics. He participated on the first afternoon of the Forum.