It’s a fresh breath of air for farmers to be informed and trained on digital agriculture, especially that the world is fast-changing, and new technologies are introduced left and right. This has already been realized through the Digital Farmers Program (DFP) which was launched in 2019. The program is in partnership with Smart Communications, Inc.
The challenges that DFP tries to overcome are inaccessibility of technologies and digital literacy gaps. There is still high cost and lack of infrastructure in remote areas, and farmers are unfamiliar with new technologies. With an aim to bridge these gaps, DFP deployed batches of training to train extension workers and conducted various farmer-level training courses across region 2.
Seeing that learning calls for more ways to be acquired, DFP introduced the Farm Tech component which is among other components of the program; other components are Farm Learn, Farm Connect, and Farm Seal.
With the onset of Farm Tech, farmers have more access to digital agriculture in the comfort of their farms. This component focuses on providing a package of technology to farm organizations to serve as an avenue in sharing the knowledge and technologies to their fellow farmers.
In July 17 to 19, 2024, POVILUS Association of Maddela, Quirino became part of the Digital Farmers Program through the initiative of the Agricultural Training Institute-Regional Training Center 02. The farmer organization immersed in a 3-day training course to prepare them for shouldering the responsibility to share the knowledge with their fellow farmers. Composed of 15 farmers and 15 youth participants, the training achieved a fruitful end through the commitment that the participants expressed.
Likewise, Villaverde Development Cooperative in Villaverde, Nueva Vizcaya experienced the same training to become farmer trainers in their community. These cooperatives, which are composed of mostly seasoned farmers also showed their interest in teaching their fellow farmers.
The farmers’ commitment was formally inked through a Memorandum of Agreement signing ceremony conducted separately in both organizations with their local government units, specifically, represented by the Municipal Agriculture Offices of Maddela, Quirino, and Villaverde, Nueva Vizcaya.
Through the knowledge and skills that these farmers acquired during their training, a Package of Technology was officially awarded to both farmer organizations. A set of smartphones, tablet, portable speaker and projector, pocket Wi-Fi, and modules composed the package to ensure that the trained farmers will reach even farmers from the farthest part of their community. The package came with a large bag for more portable and easier transport.
With various methods that are made in DFP, digital learning for agriculture takes another leap.
