DID YOU KNOW: Department of Agriculture established in 1974

The Department of Agriculture (DA) was established by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 461 signed on May 17, 1974, by then President Ferdinand Marcos.

The DA’s predecessor, the Department of Agriculture and Manufacturing, was one of the first agencies formed in 1898 by President Emilio Aguinaldo.

In 1917, it became the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR). The decree issued in 1974 split DANR into two departments. On Jan. 30, 1987, then President Corazon Aquino issued Executive Order No. 116 which reorganized and gave the department its present name.

The DA’s main office is on Elliptical Road in Diliman, Quezon City. —Marielle Medina