TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite — The Department of Agriculture (DA)-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in the Calabarzon Region will host its first agriculture-based quiz bee contest for senior high school students (SHS) at Santa Cruz, Laguna on Sept. 29.
DA-ATI Calabarzon Regional Center Director Marites P. Cosico conceptualized the “Search for Batang OA (Organic Agriculture),” aimed at creating awareness on organic agriculture (OA) and spurring the youth’s interest to pursue agriculture-related courses in the region.
Around 50 selected senior high school students from various schools in the Calabarzon provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon will join the quiz bee, “Batang OA” focal person Soledad E. Leal said on Monday.
Leal added that the DA-ATI activity focuses on addressing the growing concern on engaging the youth in agriculture.
“Young people nowadays are not very much interested in farming because they don’t see much prospect in the future of agriculture,” she lamented.
She added the competition is in line with the agency’s various programs “to facilitate synergies for increased employment opportunities for the youth within the organic agriculture value chains and strengthen institutional capacity of the local organizations to effectively meet the needs of youth seeking information and employment within the organic agricultural sector.”
“This activity is also in support of ATI IV-A’s various initiatives to encourage more young people to perceive farming as a profitable business and a rewarding career,” Leal said.
The quiz bee is seen as a venue for the ATI to present available technologies and information on a lighter note.
Senior high school students with agriculture subjects are targeted for the quiz bee.
The topics agriculture concepts and legal aspects like the OA act of 2010, integrated diversified organic farming systems, organic agriculture; crops, livestock and poultry production; Philippine national standards on OA, and current events.
The quiz bee will be divided into 3 rounds — elimination (2 rounds), semi-final, and final round.
For the elimination round, contest participants will be given 30 questions to be answered within 30 minutes and only the top 30 may proceed to the next level of elimination, where only 10 will be selected and move to the semi-final round.
The semi-final round is further divided into three categories — easy, average, and difficult. Only the Top 5 will be selected for the final round, but all are considered winners, depending on the place they will get in the final count.
Aside from medals, cash prizes of PHP2,000, PHP3,000 and PHP4,000 will be given to 5th, 4th, and 3rd placers, respectively.
The 2nd place winner will receive PHP6,000 and a medal, while the grand champion will receive PHP10,000 plus medal and perpetual trophy.
Meanwhile, the five semi-finalists who will not qualify for the final round, will be given PHP1,000 each plus medal and certificate. (Gladys Pino/PNA)
