28 Farmers graduates from Farmers’ Field School (FFS) on Corn Production
Twenty-eight farmers from Sitio Siok graduated under the program dubbed as “Farmer’s Field School on Corn Production” spearheaded by the City Government of Koronadal in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture-Field Office XII (DA-FO XII).
The graduates had undergone a 16-week season-long training with lectures and hands-on activities on corn production. The said training program was facilitated by Corn Coordinator Leonardo G. Presga and Agricultural Technologists Ramie L. Huesca and Janry L. Ruiz.
In his message, City Mayor Eliordo U. Ogena said that the City Government plans to propose an increase in the budget, intended for the agricultural sector. Also, the Mayor said that he is open to change and must focus on developing concrete programs in addressing the needs of farmer-beneficiaries to help alleviate their economic condition.
“Nagapati ako nga kung gusto naton sang dasig nga progreso sang Koronadal, dapat ang mga manguguma naton tagaan man sang mga gaka-igo nga programa,” Mayor Ogena said.
The Season-Long Farmer’s Field School (FFS) on Corn Production is a corn program of the Department of Agriculture that aims to impart knowledge of new technologies to the corn planters specifically on pest and diseases management under the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach.
In an interview, Agricultural Technologist Janry L. Ruiz said that part of their lecture was to introduce Sustainable Corn Production in Sloping Areas (SCOPSA). SCOPSA, on the other hand, enables corn farmers of Siok to improve and increase yield and successfully plant corn even in slope areas by using organic or balance fertilization.
The FFS on Corn Production Field Day and Graduation was held on November 20 at Purok Punta Barrio, Sitio Siok, City of Koronadal.