A total of thirty-six AEWs from various provinces and municipalities of the Cordillera successfully finished the Training of Trainors (TOT) on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and GAP Farm Inspection for AEWs of CAR held on May 19-23, 2025 at the Dam-muhan Hall, ATI-RTC-CAR, BSU Compd., La Trinidad, Benguet.
The activity aimed to equip the participants to become inspectors and efficiently assess GAP applicants for compliance in their respective municipalities and provinces, and be able to efficiently guide their farmer clients in complying with GAP standards and applying for GAP certification.
Dr. Cristine B. Esnara, Section Chief of the Partnership and Accreditation Services Section and at the same time the Project Officer, pointed out that GAP Compliance and Certification is an urgent practice that needs to be understood well by the extension providers specifically the agricultural extension workers, co-implementers, community policymakers and other stakeholders and the farmers in view of the implementation of Asian Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade-World Trade Organization (GATT-WTO) and Food Safety Act of 2013. She added that both AFTA and GATT-WTO aim to provide equal and wider market opportunities for food products being produced by each member country. However, this market opportunity is not the mere removal of import taxes but requires a guarantee system called Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) Compliance Certificate, specifically to declare that fresh food products being sold in the market have undergone a production and processing system that ensures food safety and quality. She added that there has to be continued training and updating of the partner AEWs, especially the newly appointed HVCD, GAP, and Food Safety Officers in the province.
Experts from the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office, the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, the Agricultural Training Institute-Regional Training Center-CAR, and the Bureau of Plant Industry served as the resource persons of the activity. They updated the participants on the Philippine National Standards: Code of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for fruits and Vegetables; Food Safety and food safety hazards including 5S in farming; FPA rules and regulations of Fertilizers and Pesticides; and Strengthening food Safety and Quality Management with emphasis on the Principles of International Organization for Standardization, Internal Control System, GAP Certification, Protocols, Guidelines and Compliances.
Various Learning Sites for Agriculture (LSAs), such as the Organic Demonstration Farm of Benguet State University (BSU), the Crop Technology Station managed and operated by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist of Benguet Province, Andy’s Farm in Bineng (La Trinidad, Benguet), and La Faustino Farm (located in Ambassador, Tublay, Benguet), served as the participants' Field Inspection Practicum areas.
During the closing ceremony, Ms. Lily Faith D. Gumidli, Staff of PENRO-Ifugao thanked the Center and all the resource persons for sharing valuable inputs. She said that she gained a clear understanding of the processes involved in GAP Inspection and Certification. She is confident and equipped to apply the knowledge and skills to support and assist the farmers in her municipality.
