As part of the continuing efforts to cluster groups of farmers in the region, ATI-RTC-CAR conducted a training on the Agro-enterprise Clustering Approach (AECA) among AEWs last July 15-19, 2024.
Topics on the said training include the three phases of AECA which include Organizing and Information Gathering for Business Plan Preparation; Agro-enterprise Planning for Collective Marketing; and Agro-enterprise Plan Implementation and Improvement tackled by Maricel M. San Pedro, Consultant from E-agro Software Development Corporation.
During the training, workshops were facilitated to capacitate the extension workers in delivering and conducting clustering parameters among their respective constituents.
Also, a market visit was conducted to immerse the participants in assessing the market to prepare the farmer clusters on the potential market linkages among their localities.
Michelle Lumas-i from LGU-Kalinga, expressed her gratitude towards the training as it provides a holistic view in guiding and conducting a participatory approach in clustering farmers through the parameters discussed during the lecture discussions.
βFirst of all nagpapasalamat kami sa ATI for the training, marami na akong na-attend na meeting about clustering and consolidation pero ito lang ang training na nagturo talaga kung paano natin i-aasess yung mga farmers natin to prepare them para sa agri-enterprise nila kase karamihan sa mga training na na-attend ko more on lecture lang,β Lumas-i shared.
Furthermore, Charlie C. Sagudan, Training Center Director of ATI-RTC-CAR shared the importance of the clustering approach in line with the vision of the Department of Agriculture and also to provide more opportunities to the constituents.
Hence, the participants prepared a provincial clustering plan as part of their training output and reference in conducting clustering meetings among the farmers and potential markets.//Ezra James Felix, CDMSS Technical Support Staff
