ROMBLON - Forty-four corn farmers completed the Farmer Scientist Training Program (FSTP) Phase II: On-Farm Experimentation and Technology Adoption in Santa Maria, and Alcantara,, on July 10-October 30, 2024, and June 26-October 30, 2024, respectively.
This training aimed to provide participants with the opportunity to apply the concepts they learned and their research experiences from Phase I to their respective farms. This also helped them discover and adopt various corn production technologies to maximize their produce and increase their yields.
As part of the activity, the farmers set up and maintained experimental farm trials on their farms, including fertilizer and varietal trials, intercropping systems, detasseling, and integrated pest management, to determine the best practices that could help boost the yield and quality of the crops.
Graduates of FSTP were tasked with training another group of participants in their community for FSTP Phase III and conducting experiments with the assistance of other farmer-scientists and agricultural technicians to identify the most suitable production technologies for their farms.
“Isang bagay po na aming naobserbahan habang ginagawa namin ang mga gawain ng isang Farmer Scientist sa Bayan ng Santa Maria ay noong una, maganda po ang aming mga obserbasyon. Ngunit habang lumalaki po ang mga pananim, medyo pinanghinaan po ng loob ang karamihan dahil sa pag-atake ng Fall Armyworm. Nakita po namin na kinakain po ng uod ang aming mga pananim. Pero salamat po sa aming MAO dahil inencourage niya po kami na ipagpatuloy ang aming ginagawa. Dahil po doon, nagkaroon po kami ng lakas na ipagpatuloy it," said Renante G. Gaad, a farmer from Brgy. Concepcion, Sta. Maria.
