Baybay City, Leyte - In the Philippines, the banana is a widely grown fruit. With its extensive production, it is also one of the dollar earners for the country., The crop is grown along the roadside, on the mountainside, in home lots, and on both big and small farms. However, small banana farms have low yields due to the prevalence of disease and the use of low input technologies.
There are a variety of pests and diseases that affect banana and plantain production. Pests and diseases tend to be aggressive which can spread easily that will eventually be hard to remove. In general, the severity and occurrence of pest outbreaks and plant damage depend upon several mitigating factors like environmental conditions, variety, pests, and diseases.
As the production of safe food starts on the farm, produce from a GAP-certified farm assures the consumers that such products are safe to eat. It is therefore imperative that good agricultural practices program on a banana from production to postharvest handling be observed and integrated into banana farming.
Ila T. Simblante, shares, “The GAP-anchored banana production is helpful to us Agricultural Extension Workers to have food safety, welfare to our farmer workers, and good quality of produce. I am so thankful that ATI gives us this opportunity that we can share our knowledge about this training with our farmers in our respective municipalities and province.”
On the other hand, Isabelo T. Enaya , Jr. knew that the training will provide valuable skills for him as an AEW. “Kung ang ATI na gani ang magpada ug communication letter ngadtos among LGU excited kayo mi mo dawat ug mubasa kay sure kayo nga pulos kaayuhan ang ilang sabwag kanamo. Labina kini nga training sa banana, daghang nakat-unan o nahibaw-an tungod lagi pud sa excellent nga pagserbisyo sa ATI o sa training team para makahatag kanamo ang sakto ug sibo nga mga technologies”, he quips.
The training aimed to provide the participants with the knowledge and skills to guide farmers in the establishment of GAP-anchored banana production.
A total of 25 participants completed the Training on GAP-anchored Banana Production on June 20-24, 2022 at ATI-RTC 8, VSU Campus, Baybay City, Leyte. (With reports from EOUy)
