LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Eight more young farmers from this province left for Japan on Wednesday for a three-year Young Farmers Exchange Program (YFEP), the provincial agriculture office here said.
Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPAG) supervising agriculturist Delinia Juan said the eight technical intern trainees would undergo a three-year hands-on and comprehensive on-the-farm training at the Farmers Cooperative of Ehime Prefecture and in Kochi Prefecture, Japan.
The eight trainees are Rufino Budoyan Jr. of Bokod; Francis Galuten and Gentar Manicawa, both of Mankayan; Rico Wakat of Sablan; Hardy Bua-eg of Buguias; Vincent Comila of Bakun; Arman Carias of Kapangan; and Febie Ann Mayamnes of Kibungan.
The eight brings to 95 the number of technical intern trainees who have so far availed of the program this year.
YFEP was conceived to provide training opportunities for young men and women engaged in agriculture to help improve Benguet’s agriculture through exchanges in technology and farming methods.
Juan said the program encourages the entry of young farmers into agriculture by helping them acquire new agriculture techniques, experience life in a foreign country, and strengthen their foreign language skills.
When they return home, the trainees are expected to bring a new level of expertise that will assist them in their work and share with their fellow farmers in the province.
The program also aims to foster exchanges with young farmers’ organizations in the host country.
It is done on the back of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by the Benguet government with Kuroshio Agricultural Development Cooperative (KADC) and Kochi Tobu Agricultural Development Cooperative (KTADC) for the technical internship training program in Kochi and in Ehime Prefecture.
The province also signed an MOA with the Japan Agricultural Exchange Council (JAEC) for a special project called “Safe vegetable production and marketing project with soil resource and conservation”, which is one of the components of YFEP. (Primo Agatep/PNA)
