To capacitate and update Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs) on promoting Organic Agriculture (OA), 30 AEWs from different Local Government Units (LGUs) in Oriental and Occidental Mindoro gathered for a five-day training on OA at Vencio’s Hotel Garden and Restaurant, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro on August 5-9, 2024.
During the f training, the participants received lectures and refreshers on OA. The topics included the Government’s Role in Food Security (Module 1), Roles and Responsibilities of LGUs in the Implementation of the National Organic Agriculture Program (NOAP) Pursuant to Republic Act No. 10068 (Module 2), Core Programs of the National Organic Agriculture Program (Module 3), and a Write-shop on Enterprise Plan Preparation (Module 4).
The participants also visited the Gabutero Organic Farm, an integrated farm in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro. In the farm tour, they learned about different OA technologies, such as vermicomposting, organic rice farming, and black soldier fly production. As a final training output, they completed a hands-on exercise in drafting enterprise plans based on the OA technologies visited and their chosen champion commodity.
During the presentation of the proposed enterprise plans, representatives from the National Organic Agriculture Program (NOAP) joined online to provide comments and recommendations on the drafted plans for future funding consideration.
Teodulfo L. Buñag, an intern, shared that he is thankful for the training because he learned a lot, especially during the enterprise planning activity and the farm tour. “Mas healthier, happier, and livelier ang buhay sa Organic Agriculture,” he said.
In his inspirational message during the culmination, Assistant Center Director Norberto C. Maur of the Agricultural Training Institute in MIMAROPA congratulated the participants and challenged them to think of ways to improve their processes, especially in meeting market demands for organically produced commodities. Mr. Maur also suggested that interns and OA farmers must collaborate and complement each other to create a sustainable source of organic produce through the clustering strategy. Furthermore, he emphasized focusing not just on the production but also on creating market linkages.
