BUTUAN CITY – A 4-H club member from Cantilan, Surigao del Sur Rick John D. Guillarte placed second in the 2-minute speech contest during the National Youth Summit on October 28-29, 2021.

The speakers from 16 competing regions had varied and interesting ideas on the “Main Role of the 4-H club in the post-pandemic recovery” as the speech piece.

“I think our role is to bridge the gap between socio-economic perspective and the agriculture sector (which is regarded as the minority in this age), through the effective use of various social media platforms and build a strong connection between the private and public sector to be able to come up with cross-sectoral development actions with the youth at the forefront of this endeavor,” Guillarte said.

Guillarte, a second-year Bachelor of Arts in Political Science student at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas – Miagao, and auditor of the AGRIMERHÉ 4-H Club Cantilan was one of the regional representatives of Caraga region in the yearly convention of 4-H’ers all over the country. His club, represented by the 4-H President Jovic M. Lomboy, also participated in the promotional video contest.

Part of the event was lecturing on the following topics: Mental Health Awareness, Digital Agriculture, Edible Landscaping, Young Agripreneurs’ Opportunities through the programs of the DA-ACPC. It also served as the venue for crafting plans and programs for the 4-H club through the Focus Group Discussion by region.

Anchored on the theme “RISE of the 4-Her (Reaching Independence, Sustainability and Empowerment of the 4-H Clubs amidst the Pandemic),” the summit was aimed at keeping the youth updated with timely and relevant information and opportunities on agriculture and fisheries development that can be availed of in this new normal.

This year’s summit was led by the 4-H National Federation with the supervision of the ATI-Central Office and ATI-RTC 12 as the host region.