This year’s School-on-the-Air (SOA) on Smart Rice Agriculture (SRA) has produced a total of  2,015 graduates from the provinces of Agusan del Norte and Butuan City, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, and Province of Dinagat Islands (PDI).

The Agricultural Training Institute-Regional Training Center (ATI-RTC) XIII spearheaded the mass graduation in collaboration with the Provincial Agriculturist Offices. It was conducted in four sites: October 22, 2024, for Agusan del Norte and Butuan City graduates held at Balanghai Hotel and Convention Center, Butuan City; October 23, 2024, for Surigao del Norte graduates held at the Provincial Convention Center, Surigao City; October 25, 2024 for Surigao del Sur graduates at the Municipal Evacuation Center, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur; and for the graduates from PDI on October 29, 2024 at the Municipal Gymnasium, Cagdianao, PDI.

The graduates received certificates for completing the 16-week SOA session. Additionally, the top-performing graduates from each municipality were awarded a pair of rubber boots, a raincoat, and a chargeable knapsack sprayer as tokens of recognition.

Municipal SOA coordinators, local government units (LGUs), and resource persons were also acknowledged for their valuable contributions to the successful implementation of the SOA program.

Launched in June 2024, it aimed to help catalyze agriculture modernization through the massive and sustained education of smallholder farmers and local intermediaries on modern and innovative technologies and approaches to Smart rice production.