DILIMAN, Quezon City—In the culmination of the Farmers’ and Fisherfolk’s Month, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) recently gathered some partners and stakeholders for the “Pistang Ani ng Bayan: Harvest Festival and Field Day 2024.”
ATI Assistant Director and OIC-Chief of the Partnerships and Accreditation Division Antonieta Arceo welcomed and acknowledged the participants and guests who graced the event. This included Undersecretary for the High-Value Crops Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero and Assistant Director for Regulatory Services and Concurrent Chief of the Bureau of Plant Industry - National Seed Quality and Control Services (NSQCS) Ruel C. Gesmundo who represented Dir. Gerald Glenn F. Panganiban.
With this, ATI Director Remelyn R. Recoter expressed her gratitude for the unwavering support of its partners in the advocacy and initiatives to achieve sufficient food supply in urban areas.
The event highlighted the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the Institute and the Department of Justice through the Parole and Probation Administration (DOJ-PPA). This agreement on a national level aims to assist the DOJ-PPA clients such as probationers, parolees, and pardoners to acquire employable skills and competitiveness to become productive and contributing members of the society.
Moreover, four institutions have committed to collaborate with the Institute to improve their respective vegetable gardens, to wit: St. Patrick School of Quezon City, Tala High School, Caloocan City, MH Del Pilar Elementary School, Caloocan City and San Pedro 9 Vertical Farm, Quezon City. A capstone project of the Multimedia Arts students from the Far Eastern University - Institute of Technology (FEU-TECH) entitled “Urbanihan: A 2D Animated Informative Video and Website Introducing Youth Into Urban Gardening” was likewise presented. The project, also known as Digital Dino, intends to provide interactive materials targeting the youth ages 15-30 years old and tackles the importance and benefits of urban gardening, and relevant services of the ATI.
A parallel one-day educational conference dubbed as the Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Technology Symposium featured the different relevant topics on the urban agriculture value chain in the Philippines. Resource persons were invited to talk about the Economic Potentials of Beekeeping in Urban and Peri-urban Areas as discussed by Dr. Michele T. Bono of the Cavite State University BRITE Center; and the Vegetable Processing and Food Preservation Demonstration as presented by Luis Bausa and The Philippine Trade Training Center Global MSME Academy by Engr. Neil Van Velez and Guia Dionido. A discussion on the Branding and Product Labelling, Market Linkage, and Product Opportunities on Agricultural Products was held with resource person Leonila Baes of the DA Agribusiness Management Assistance Service.
Also, a technological demonstration and expo with 16 exhibitors from various government agencies, agribusinesses, and community-based urban and peri-urban agriculture garden organizations took place during the event. Some vegetables, fruits, and by-products were sold at the Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Marketplace.
Representatives from the community-based urban agriculture gardens and other partners graced the ceremonial kick-off of the various initiatives to promote agriculture among the youth and to support digital farming activities. Heads and administrators from ATI’s partner schools and cooperators from selected Learning Sites for Agriculture witnessed the event.
The activity was held last May 31, 2024 at the ATI Compound.
