FIRST FARM SCHOOL IN CV OPENS IN JUNE
The 3.4 hectare farm school in Balamban will offer courses like crop and animal production, big and small ruminants, horticulture, organic agriculture, artificial insemination, milking, animal health and aquaculture, among others
Central Visayas’ first ever farm school will open this June to encourage the younger generation to discover their passion for farming and earn from it.
The Balamban Intensive Skills and Technology Inc. (Bisti) owned by Romelito “Boy” Mantuhac, 57, with his industrial partner, Oliver Patlingrao, 60, will offer extensive agriculture courses aimed at cultivating not only the soil but the interest in farming, which is one of the sectors that needs more intervention.
The Deparment of Agriculture (DA) 7, in its official Facebook page, announced that the farm school is situated in Barangay Cantuod in Balamban. The farm school will focus on teaching agriculture and agribusiness among other courses.
As of now, the farm school is intensifying its preparations for full operations this year.
Mantuhac said the agriculture students will be motivated to learn how to grow their own fruits and vegetables that will soon give them a yearly income to compensate or even top their production costs.
Technology will also be integrated when students in the computer classes will analyze using data from the farm that will reflect the profitability of farming.
In September 2018, inflation rose to 6.7 percent, and the business chambers here called on the government to immediately fix the agricultural problems of the country to tame inflation.
El Niño
In a joint statement, the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance and the Deparment of Budget and Management said they will prioritize steps on fostering adaptive farming practices.
“Ensuring sufficient supply of rice and other major agricultural products from local sources likewise remains crucial over the near term with the looming El Niño phenomenon in 2019. Short-maturing, high-yielding, and resilient varieties of crops should be utilized, alongside efficient water management systems,” it said.
“Over the medium to long term, reassessing the vulnerability and suitability of farm areas should also be prioritized to bring forth adaptive farming activities,” it added.
The agriculture sector, which is highly vulnerable to calamities like typhoons, needs all the help it can get, especially from the younger generation, the DA 7 said.
The 3.4 hectare farm school will also have a breeding ground for farm animals such as hogs, sheep, goats, native chicken, quail and a wide range of animals.
The courses that will be offered are crop and animal production, big and small ruminants, horticulture, organic agriculture, artificial insemination, milking, animal health and aquaculture, among others, said DA 7.
Senior high school courses in Bisti will also concentrate on farming.
DA 7 added that the office of Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara is setting aside a P12 million fund for scholarship in agriculture, which they can make use of in June.