The Agricultural Training Institute-Regional Training Center 1 (ATI-RTC 1) conducted the Training of Trainers (TOT) on Digital Agriculture Course (DAC) under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund-Rice Extension Services Program (RCEF-RESP) on June 20-22, 2022 at ATI-RTC 1 Tebag East, Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan.

The three-day training complements the implementation of Farmer Field School as it aims to capacitate and prepare Farm School representatives for the rollout of digital literacy training for farmers in their respective areas. A total of 28 participants from 10 farm schools in region 1 attended the training.

During the training, the participants were able to learn the module components of DAC. Specifically, they acquired knowledge and skills on the use of different mobile applications that will help farmers in their farming activities through lecture-discussion and hands-on demonstration activities. Participants also underwent microteaching which intends to assess their preparedness in delivering the subject in their respective locality.

“The sudden and rapid speed of technological growth can result in a quicker diagnosis of plant health status and more trustworthy sources of information about agriculture and other fields. Online platforms like Facebook and YouTube, to name a few, aren't just for pleasure; they can also help people promote their businesses.”, Ms. Jocelyn Mendoza of RB Agri-Tourism Farm said as she expressed her learnings and insights about the training.

Meanwhile, Mr. Artemio S. Recto of Our Farm Republic encouraged his fellow farmers in a message, “Huwag magpaiwan! Magsasaka makisabay sa mga makabagong pamamaraan, kung paano magsaka gamit ang mga application na angkop at kung paano madagdagan ang kita sa pamamagitan ng pagbebenta online.”

Final output of the participants includes the preparation of the Re-entry Plan that indicates their desire to apply and cascade the knowledge and skills they learned from the training.