Trainers train on digital agriculture Twenty new trainers became equipped on digital agriculture and ICT tools through the Training of Trainers on Digital Agriculture Course under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. The training was conducted at the Food and Technology building, ATI-RTC 02, Malasin, San Mateo, Isabela on March 11-15, 2024.
The TOT on Digital Agriculture Course is a course under the RCEF-Rice Extension Services Program which aims to capacitate and prepare LSA-farm schools and facilitators to implement a digital literacy training for farmers in their communities.
The participants were capacitated on the use of smartphones, accessing the internet, and using various web-based ICT tools and agriculture-based applications. Also, they experience creating social media content and posters to promote agri-products and maximizing the use of e-Commerce.
“After this training, I realized that this course is a must, especially for us and for farmers. Every AEW and farmer should utilize the ICT tools and other digital platforms in farming because that’s what an agricultural country should do,” shared Murphy P. Maingag, a participant from Camalaniugan, Cagayan.
During the 5-day training, the participants were immersed in a recorded Micro-teaching which is a requirement in the training. They also finished a course in the e-Learning website under the eExtension Program.
“All knowledge that I gained here in TOT will be useful in our farm school. Sharing is caring as they said. If I don’t share the knowledge that I gained in this training, it will be useless because I didn’t use it in transforming farmers’ way of farming. I believe that knowing is not enough, we must also apply it,” said Jonabel Dizon, one of the participants.
In hopes to enhance digital skills of farmers and prepare them for the digital world, the trainers are expected to share these knowledge and skills to their respective areas.