To help farmers increase their yield and income through modern farming techniques, the Villar SIPAG established its first farm school in Iloilo, which is among the Top 5 rice producing provinces in the country.
Senator Cynthia Villar, director of Villar SIPAG, hopes participants in the trainings being offered for free by the farm school can help improve production in rice farms.
She also, said the participants could pass on the knowledge they could acquire from the trainings to their respective communities, cooperatives and farm schools, among others.
“That is our goal, why we prioritize trainers like yourselves, so you can pass on your learnings,” Villar said.
The chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture and food welcomed the farmers from Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique, and Negros provinces who were participants to the training program on Production of High-Quality Inbred Rice and Seeds and Farm Mechanization sponsored by Villar SIPAG and the Agricultural Training Institute Regional Training VI.
Farmer-trainers will be trained to operate and maintain farm equipment and machinery which will help bring down the cost of production.
They will also learn from the experts in producing high-quality inbred seeds which will increase their yield by 50 percent.
“Inspired by the success of our training initiatives in our farm schools in Las Pinas and in Bulacan, we are now building more farm schools in the Visayas and Mindanao to replicate this feat and to bring these free training programs closer to the communities,” Villar said.
Villar cited the need to “invest in our people through free and extensive training programs,” which is mandated under Republic Act 11203 or the law creating the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.
The two-week training program is held also in partnership with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PHILRICE), the Philippine Center for Post-Harvest Development and Mechanization (PHILMECH), and the Technical Skills Development Authority (TESDA).