1st farmer-scientist agri-business conference, workshop held in Siquijor

By Rizalie A. Calibo

SIQUIJOR, Oct 10 (PIA)— The Siquijor provincial government held Monday the first farmer-scientist agri-business conference and workshop at the Quicksilver Conference Hall in Siquijor, Siquijor. 

Participants are selected Farmer Scientist Training Program (FSTP) -trained farmers or farmer-scientists actively engaged in the marketing of their farm products with annual incomes of more than P100,000, presidents or representatives of successful FSTP cooperatives /farmer-scientists' associations, and some officials of Agri-Business companies in Siquijor who are now in processing, packaging and marketing of farm products. 

Local government units (LGUs), Municipal Agricultural Officers (MAOs) with Agricultural Tecnicians (ATs) and other guests engaged in agri-business also attended the conference/workshop. 

Program leader and 2012 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Romulo Davide said in his overview that the First FSTP 

Farmer-Scientists Agri-Business Conference and workshop aims to identify suitable and appropriate FSTP farm production technologies developed by FSTP farmer-scientists in Siquijor province, processing and packaging technologies suitable for the local markets and farm-food products needed by the resorts, hotels in Siquijor. 

It also seeks to develop marketing strategies for the local markets and organize a group that will be identified as the FSTP Agri-Business Club; and discuss, among others, important related matter. 

FSTP started in Siquijor in 2003 and has trained already more than a thousand farmer-scientists. 

He said more than 20,000 FSTP-trained farmer scientists in DOST Region 7 are now successfully engaged in agri-business. Their annual income has increased to more than 100%. 

Some of our model farmers-scientists have increased their annual income to more than 100,000 and a few are earning more than a million pesos annually from the sales of their farm products, he said. 

He added that to sustain and inspire more of the FSTP-trained farmers to enlarge their agri-business operation, DOST Region 7 and the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) have recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to provide financial and technical assistance to FSTP. 

The conference workshop is component of the project. (RACalibo/PIA-Siquijor) 

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100 trainees benefit from Tesda program

SIQUIJOR, Oct 10 (PIA) -- One-hundred trainee-beneficiaries from this province completed the training on Shielded Metal Arc Welding NC II (SMAW) conducted by the Cebu Science of Welding Technology, Inc. 

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Information Officer Elsa Apiag said the graduates also underwent mandatory competency to be certified in SMAW NC II. 

Out of the 100 trainee-graduates, 97 were found competent indicating the quality in the training delivery of the program, said Apiag. 

The second batch is undergoing training, starting July 23 with 90 beneficiaries. 

As of September 2012, a total of 302 Siquijodnons were beneficiaries of the Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), of which 190 were trained in SMAW. 

TWSP is one of Tesda’s major programs implemented in cooperation with the local government unit of Siquijor province. 

Graduates, aside from being trained, are certified if they pass the competency assessment and certification program of Tesda. They are prepared for wage or self-employment locally or can also be employed abroad. 

Another program implemented in the province is the Tesda Specialista Technopreneurship Program (TSTP) whose beneficiaries are certified Tesda National Certificate II holders. 

They are provided with tool kits or starter kits to be able to start immediately what they have learned. 

In Siquijor, three kinds of services are available, namely, Food and Beverage services or what is commonly known as waiters and waitresses, the Computer Hardware Services, and the Animal Production Specialistas. 

The program hopes to help the beneficiaries earn living for themselves and their families to improve their lives, Apiag said. (RAC/PIA-Siquijor w/ reports from EAApiag/Tesda)