CABADBARAN CITY, Agusan del Norte – In its effort to speed up the promotion of Organic Agriculture, the Agricultural Training Institute – Regional Training Center (ATI-RTC) 13 conducted the Training on Organic Agriculture Production Technologies.

The training aimed to enhance the knowledge and technical capability of the Agricultural Extension Workers ((AEWs) on organic agriculture. A total of 31 old and newly designated Organic Agriculture Program (OAP) focal persons from Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur and Butuan City participated in the training.

Mr. Rodulfo Domingo, Agriculturist II of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office 13 discussed the concepts and principles of RA 10068 also known as the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010. Ms. Cindy Burdeos, Agriculturist I presented the plans, programs and interventions of OAP in the region.

Ms. Jhoanna G. Garcia, Nature Farming Technology System (NFTS) Consultant lectured on JADAM organic farming. She shared that JADAM which was developed by Youngsang Cho introduces an ultra-low-cost method of farming as an answer to the inevitable inflation of production inputs. She mentioned that JADAM’s objectives are to bring farming back to the farmers and restore farmers’ sovereignty in technology.

The training was blended with hands-on exercises in order to intensify the learning process. Ms. Garcia discussed and demonstrated the procedures in preparing various solutions using inexpensive and readily-available ingredients. They prepared homemade natural pesticides and fertilizers such as JADAM Microorganism Solution (JMS), JADAM Liquid Fertilizers (JLF), JADAM Herbal Solution (JHS) and JADAM wetting agent (JWA).

The trainees also gained insights from farm owners on their best farming practices and experiences during the benchmarking activities in Butuan City. Mr. Diosdado Attilo of Atillo farm located in Pinamanculan talked about the substrates used in his vermiculture production. Mr. Jaime O. Perolina of Dumalagan, Magsasaka Siyentista of LGU-Butuan Farmers Information & Technology Services (FITS) center imparted his practices on producing naturally grown vegetables.

The trainees also documented the best practices on organic rice production of the Private Public Partnership-Caraga State University Farmers Land Renters Associations, Inc. Ms. Blezzel Balmosena, owner and co-operator of Zels Dragon Fruit Orchard located in Bancasi, an ATI certified Learning Site for Agriculture eagerly shared her natural way of growing dragon fruit.

The training was held on April 10-12, 2019 at E&G Hotel and Resort, Barangay 7, Cabadbaran City.