LEGAZPI CITY — The Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Bicol said 460 farmers and students have recently completed the five-month course on Vegetable Production under the School on the Air (SOA) program in Sorsogon City.
Emily Bordado, chief of DA’s regional agriculture and fisheries information office, in an interview on Wednesday said the farmer-graduates came from municipalities of Bulan; Barcelona; Casiguran; Gubat; Irosin; Juban; Prieto Diaz and Sorsogon City, while the students came from Bicol University-Gubat Campus and Technical Vocational School in Casiguran.
Rosita Imperial, regional coordinator of the High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) of DA, in her speech during the recent graduation rites, said the SOA is one of the extension methodologies being supported by the DA to disseminate and promote new technologies and good practices to farmers and other agriculture stakeholders.
She explained that vegetable production which is one of the areas covered by the HVCDP program, one of the components of which is the provision of production support services and inputs such as seeds; small farm production equipment; small irrigation system, trainings, information services and marketing assistance.
The DA’s training arm ATI provides trainings and other extension support and modalities like the SOA and Farmer’s Field schools.
Imperial announced that the thrust of the DA now is to make schools as learning sites; establish crop museums ; expand and strengthen community seed banking and continue to provide post-harvest and processing facilities.
“The graduates of the SOA will be given starter kits so they can start their own vegetable gardens which includes vegetable seeds, garden tools and seedling trays,” she added.
For his part, Dr. Antonio Fuentes, provincial executive officer, said that the vegetable production program is not only about increasing production but also uplifting the socio-economic status of the people and addressing the problem on malnutrition. He enjoined the SOA graduates to apply what they learned and to “do good in return for the province and earn additional income in an honest manner”.
Meanwhile, Cirlo P. Nuyles, chief of the Careers Development and Management Section/Information Services Section of the ATI who supervised the conduct of the SOA, thanked the participants and their institutional partners.
The SOA is aired over local radio stations in Sorsogon. (Connie Calipay/PNA)
