The Agricultural Training Institute - Regional Training Center 1 (ATI-RTC 1) held a Training of Trainers (ToT) on Digital Farmers Program (DFP) 101 and 102 on June 28-30, 2022 via Zoom Meeting, the first roll out of ToT on DFP for Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs) in region 1.

A total of 22 AEWs from various Local Government Units (LGU) in Pangasinan and La Union attended the training. It was designed to prepare participants for implementing the Digital Farmers Program in their local communities and for them to embrace the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) guides for farmers and maximize their service delivery through ICT tools.

The participants of the training were required to present and explain the DFP's components, talk about its toolkit, modules, and simulate various in-training scenarios through their microteaching session. Moreover, compilation of outputs on mobile applications (Canva App, Agri-Apps & e-Platforms), a social media marketing plan, and DFP action plan for farmers to implement DFP in their respective areas were also completed.

DFP is a collaborative initiative of the Agricultural Training Institute and Smart Communications to help narrow the digital skills gap and work toward a more comprehensive digital inclusion in farming. The program's target beneficiaries include farmers and youth, and other para-extension professionals like farmer leaders and Learning Site for Agriculture cooperators, as well as AEWs from LGUs.

To note, a total of 1,900 farmers and youth participants had already attended 114 DFP 101 and 102 sessions across the country as of December 2021.