The 4th Techno Gabay Summit, to be held under the auspices of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) at the Southern Luzon State University (SLSU) in Lucban, Quezon on Nov. 9-10, is seen to be “the most celebrated gathering” of Farmers’ Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center in the Calabarzon region.
Techno Gabay Program (TGP) focal person, Rolando Maningas, disclosed on Tuesday that the ATI has adopted the Summit theme, “Ensuring Food Security Amidst Climate Change”, since climate change is the most pressing issue in agricultural productivity.
Maningas explained that ATI, through its regional centers, is implementing various activities in relation to climate change initiatives, which include training and extension services and the TGP that were institutionalized in 2012 and identified as one of the extension modalities of the institute.
He said the techno-guide program aims to bring science-based information and technology services to the end-users in the agriculture, forestry, and natural resources sectors, including organic agriculture.
The FITS Center, one of the major components of the TGP, is the grassroot’s direct link to the institute, Maningas added.
TGP has four main components: the FITS Center, Magsasaka-Siyentista (or Farmer-Scientists), Information Education Communication (IEC) Materials, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
ATI organizers also disclosed that some 200 participants are expected from Lucban and Tayabas in Quezon province and Luisiana in Laguna province.
They also expect the summit participants, FITS Center and guests to be able to understand the effects of climate change to agricultural productivity and discuss the concepts and principles of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices.
ATI also said that the summit aims to exchange best practices with CSA activities in the farm; recognize outstanding FITS Center activities in program implementation; and plan and assess the activities of the FITS Center for 2018.
The TGP was initiated by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to promote technology dissemination and utilization guides, and to facilitate knowledge-sharing among extension workers and farmers.
In 2009, the DOST-PCAARRD was mandated to transfer the program implementation to ATI, as the Department of Agriculture’s training and extension arm, to institutionalize the extension modalities in the country’s agriculture and fisheries sector. (Gladys Pino/PNA)
