The last batch of the Training on Integrated Rice-based Farming System for farmers took place at the City of Tabuk, Kalinga, last September 12-14, 2023. It was participated by 30 rice farmers from the municipality of Tanudan and Tabuk City.
During the opening, Ms. Teresita Desay, the Assistant Provincial Agriculturist of Kalinga, urged the attendees to actively engage in the training considering that the training has hands-on demonstration. The training serves as a platform for participants to acquire knowledge about innovative technologies applicable to their specific fields, thereby enhancing their agricultural output. Ms. Desay also conveyed her appreciation to the Training Management Team from the Agricultural Training Institute- Cordillera Administrative Region for bringing such training for the farmers of the city and municipality.
Highlights of the training are the discussions on transformational leadership, rice morphology, palay check system, integrated farming system, proper and cultural management of free-range chicken and vegetable production. Also, participants were enabled to do a hands-on exercise on feed formulation using the locally available resources such as trichantera, ipil-ipil camote and malunggay leaves. Leaf meals were mixed with rice bran, soya bean and corn grits.
The three-day training provided them the importance of proper sowing bed preparation, timely transplanting of rice seedlings, and avoiding seedling cutting to prevent diseases. It emphasized the significance of precise timing, selecting the right elements, and right amount of synthetic fertilizers in their rice farming. The discussed key checks will guide them in improving their harvest, particularly those applicable to their uphill rice fields.
At the end of the activity, the participants convened that they would demonstrate rice-based integrated or diversified farming system by planting vegetables and integrating chicken production utilizing the distributed starter kits.
