Benchmarkings make cross-learning easy specially when the farm owner is around to give instant replies to queries. Here, JIKA Farm owner Allan M. Arnoco accompanies training-participants who are Climate Smart Farm Business School (FBS) facilitators.
JIKA Farm, Lanao del Norte---The complex, challenging, and competitive rice production environment in the country prompted the conduct of the Climate Smart Farm Business School (CSFBS). This aims to create new ways of upgrading farmers' awareness, understanding, and learning to adapt not only to changing climate but also to re-orient their families' ecological and farm resources into economic units that will enable them to acquire knowledge on business farming.
The shift to a market-oriented farming will enable rice producers learn proper matching and selection of farm technologies and safe farm supplies to reduce crop damages, as well as packaging of fresh and finished farm products acceptable to the market and safe consumption standards for both local and global markets. The CSFBS harmonized and strengthened the current Enhanced Climate Smart Agriculture and the Farm Business School training programs.
Just recently, a Training-Workshop for Facilitators of Climate Smart Farm Business School (FBS) was organized in support to the Tier II Program of ATI. The 30 training participants consisted of Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs), Learning Site (LS) operators, local farmer technicians and other farmer leaders from the Province of Lanao del Norte.
The said training-workshop, as facilitated by Project Officer Jhoylie Mae C. Rosales, included some group dynamic activities which required the participants' creativity to make the learning process fun and interesting. The participants have undergone series of lectures, workshops and have accomplished the following outputs such as Crop Plan, Risk Assessment Report, Reflections, Vision Statement, Market Survey Report, Benchmarking Report, Farm Business Plan, Palayamanan Model Farms, Action Plan and a Re-Entry Plan.
“By the end of four years and maximum of five years, I am one of the young Filipino Farmer Awardees which is able to become a young entrepreneur model.”, training-participant Clifford L. Abon (an active 4H from LGU-Maigo) wrote in his Vision Statement.
More importantly, the AEWs are expected to re-echo or incorporate the topics for their farmer trainings or seminars to their respective municipalities and the farmers are expected to implement the learnings gained from the training. There will be 3 batches of season-long CSFBS for farmers to be implemented in Lanao del Norte.
The 9-day training transpired on June 6-14, 2018 at JIKA Farm, Simpak, Lala, Lanao del Norte. (with reports from Jhoylie Mae C. Rosales, Development Manager Officer-II)