Organized farmers here have started exporting brown rice to markets in the Middle East, courtesy of investments from residents employed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol. Resident-farmers belonging to the Don Bosco Multi-Purpose Cooperative (DBMPC) initially shipped 10 metric tons of brown rice last June 30 to Dubai, said Piñol, who is a former mayor of this town. He said the shipment was coordinated with concerned sectors by Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 12 Director Mila Casis, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Director Ofelia Domingo, DBMPC General Manager Romano Laurilla, and the organic rice farmers. Piñol described the export initiative as a “success story” among the OFWs he met with-in Dubai last year, and inspired “to invest their hard-earned money, earn modest profits and at the same time, help their country economically.” He recalled in a Facebook post that in his Dubai visit in September, 2016, some OFWs confided to him their intent to retire and go home for good under the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Reintegration Program, hoping to invest their earnings into productive ventures. The organic brown rice production of farmers in this town came as first choice for the OFWs’ target investments due to its viability and sustainability, according to Piñol.