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| A total of 320 farmers from 18 municipalities in Leyte, including Tacloban City, graduated from a school-on-ai broadcast module on high-value crops. |
The Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office 8 (DA-RFO 8) held the commencement exercises for the School-on-the-Air (SOA) on High-Value Vegetable Production at the Leyte Academic Center (LAC) Gymnasium on October 26, 2022, in Palo, Leyte.
The SOA was made possible by the Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Section (RAFIS), in collaboration with the Leyte Provincial Agriculturist's Office and DYVL Aksyon Radio Tacloban. This program began on July 25, 2022, and concluded on October 20, 2022. It aired every Monday and Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Through interactive radio broadcasts of pertinent topics, the program aims to educate farmers in remote areas about the latest production technologies.
Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho L. Petilla delivered an inspiring message. He emphasized his desire to improve the status of agriculture in the province, which could potentially supply large corporations if appropriate economies of scale are provided.
The said SOA graduated a total of 320 farmers. 18 municipalities in Leyte, including Tacloban City, actively participated in this broadcast module. Angel C. Enriquez, Regional Executive Director of DA-RFO 8, confirmed the farmers. In her keynote address, RED Enriquez also challenged the farmer graduates to improve their respective food production activities.
Mario Labarete, a PWD farmer from San Miguel, Leyte, made an impression as one of the farmer graduates. He stated that he has been actively following the broadcast course since its inception. The SOA later assisted him in becoming a farmer and developing the one-hectare farm that he now owns and manages. He also emphasized that being disabled is never an impediment to farming. He is grateful to the Department of Agriculture and the Province of Leyte for allowing him to learn through the SOA.
Larry U. Sultan, Regional Technical Director for Operations and Extention, delivered the closing remarks, encouraging farmers to increase their farming activities as cooperative and secure more opportunities through consolidation and clustering. He urged farmers to supply larger markets and to prioritize product quality. (Source: DA Eastern Visayas)