The Agricultural Training Institute-Central Luzon (ATI-CL), together with Ms. Alexandrea Suรฑga, a representative from the National Organic Agriculture Program (NOAP) coordinating office, conducted a monitoring visit to the Youth Internship Program on Organic Agriculture (YIPOA) interns on March 19, 2025.
During the visit, Mr. Michael Grande, Mr. Vito Farrales, and Mr. Jose Mendoza shared their experiences as YIPOA interns and the implementation of their respective businesses.
They also provided insights into their strategies for organic farming, the challenges they faced, and their future plans for growth.
Additionally, Mr. Grande showcased his farm, which includes commodities such as goats, chickens, stingless bees, Carolina peppers, and other vegetables.
Mr. Mendoza shared that after his internship, he started with one dairy buffalo and now has threeโone is pregnant, and the other two are scheduled for breeding in April 2025. He also mentioned that he began earning profits from milk production after a year of running his business. He also acquired pigs and ducks from the income he got from milk sales.
Furthermore, Mr. Farrales shared that he started with Darag chickens but, with more farming experience, he expanded his business to include layer chickens, gamefowl, and heritage chickens.
Moreover, the interns plan to obtain certifications for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), and they aim to expand their farms.
