Square Foot Gardening proponent retired Col. Honorio S. Cervantes answers more queries during the Agri-Kaalaman portion of AgriTalk. (photo credit: Mr. Honorio S. Cervantes)
SM Downtown, Metro Cagayan De Oro---For its second session for the year, AgriTalk 2019 kicked off at the SM Downtown Premier, Cagayan de Oro City on May 24.
More than 700 farmers and agripreneurs were present at the venue to grab the opportunity to learn about three specific topics, namely Square foot Gardening, Beekeeping and Mushroom Production from experienced lecturers.
In her message, OIC-Center Director Maria Lydia A. Echavez assured the audience that ATI continues to focus in developing the youth as the next in line generation of farmers and food producers. She also encouraged the participants that the learning and takeaways from the event should inspire them to apply it in their respective homes.
Meanwhile, the first Resource Person (RP) on stage was Ten Outstanding Farmers (TOFARM) Awardee Col. Honorio Cervantes of Pagatpat, Cagayan de Oro City. Mr. Cervantes discussed square foot gardening including the prescribed measurements and plant spacing.
Next was about Beekeeping by Jocelyn M. Ellevera of Department of Agriculture Region 10 - Northern Mindanao Agricultural Crops and Livestock Research Complex (DA-NMACLRC). She discussed the different types of native bees to work with as well as the different products that can be derived from honey and pollen.
Lastly, May Shell E. Tumilap discussed the bright prospects when venturing in mushroom production.
AgriTalk 2019, as a collaborative event mounted by the Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI) and the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) along with the Manila Bulletin, is an event that offers free seminars on different fields of agriculture in the country.
Two more AgriTalks are scheduled to be conducted on the 3rd and 4th quarters this year in Cebu City and Cavite respectively. (with reports from Angelica B. Villarta, PMEU Technical Support Staff)