The Agricultural Training Institute-Regional Training Center in the Cordillera Administrative Region through its Information Services Section (ISS) conducted a Digital Farmers’ Program orientation for farmers of Barangay Poblacion, Itogon, Benguet last January 16, 2025 .
The orientation, which was a response to Barangay Poblacion's invitation, aimed to empower the farmers by equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate and thrive in the digital market landscape.
As an introduction, Mr. Adrian Chris Velasco, Information Officer II briefed the farmer participants about the programs, projects and activities of the Agricultural Training Institute.
For the Digital Farmers’ Program, Mr. Velasco emphasized that the program aimed to advance the agricultural industry through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The DFP also aimed to help farmers access information to make better farming decisions, improve efficiencies & skills using digital technologies, expand and tap a wide network of market opportunities, increase resiliency, and enhance their livelihood. Mr. Velasco also expounded on the DFPs components such as the Farm Learn, Farm Tech, Farm Connect, and Farm Seal. For Farm Learn, this is the capacity-building component of the program that helps digital adoption of farmers and youth through learning courses on basic mobile and internet literacy; agri applications, social media marketing, and e-commerce; as well as smart agriculture technologies which are being implemented via face-to-face and online. The farm learn consists of a ladderized approach to helping farmers make better farming decisions, access more market opportunities, and increase their livelihood and income. The program contents are broken down into three levels namely DFP 101 (Beginner), DFP 102 (Intermediate), and DFP 103 (Advance). The Farm Connect is the second component which is an initiative that aims to connect farmer groups to digital agriculture service providers such as drone technology services for seed, fertilizer, and pesticide spraying, as well as satellite mapping for nutrient and health management of crops. On the Farm Tech, which is the third component is a package that provides access to technology and content to farming communities. It will serve as a portable digital training and livelihood resource in digital agriculture. The last component is Farm Seal. This is a certification program that aims to recognize smart farms. Patterned from the Learning Site for Agriculture accreditation program of the ATI, the certification of smart farms intends to support farms that can serve as conduits in demonstrating and providing digital agriculture-related extension services in communities. Additionally, Mr. Velasco discussed social media marketing which is one of the topics in DFP 101.
Mr. Jaypee Na-oy, Agriculturist II, expounded on the internet basics, and internet safety. He said that we have to be cautious in accessing the internet because not all internet content is true.
Ms. Flordeliza G. Depayso, Barangay Captain expressed her warm greetings and appreciation to the Center for responding to their invitation. She acknowledged that indeed, digitalization is the name of the game of today’s system.
A total of 30 farmer participants attended the said orientation activity.
