The Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in MIMAROPA equipped banana farmers with knowledge on new technologies for banana production during the Training on Banana Production with Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) at Ala Amid Bed and Breakfast, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, on July 16-18, 2024.
The training aimed to enhance the participants’ awareness in utilizing new technologies in banana production for quality produce and promoting food safety, environmental management, and workers’ welfare through GAP.
Various activities were conducted including the discussion of Mr. Edgardo S. Agoncillo of Mindoro State University about practical banana cultivation, new techniques for plant propagation, and concepts on pest and disease management, which were relevant to the current needs of the farmers as they experienced losses due to the infestation of Moko and Bugtok diseases.
One of the highlights of the training was the hands-on activity held at Gardones Farm, Sta. Lucia, Puerto Princesa City, wherein the participants had the opportunity to interview the farm owner and identify best practices and areas of improvement of the farm. Moreover, a demonstration on good sucker selection and macro-propagation technique was conducted to help the participants produce more plantlets.
To equip participants with expertise on farm computation, the resource person discussed the lecture on cost and return analysis. They were given exercises on Return on Investment computations for the Gardones farm using the prevailing market price inputs in Palawan.
The 30 participants were also given lectures on different GAPs to give them options for holistic approaches in farm operations, including safeguarding biodiversity, minimizing environmental hazards, and promoting workers’s health and safety while producing safe and quality products.
As the training concluded, the participants were able to create field reports and workshop outputs and develop the layout of a GAP-certified farm, which they can apply to their own farms to maximize production.
