Forty-three (43) LSA, SPA and ESP cooperators from MiMaRoPa Region attended the five-day LSA, School for Agriculture (SPA) and Extension Provider (ESP) Summit 2020 held on February 24 – 28, 2020 at Yamang Bukid Farm, Bacungan, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan along with other stakeholders and representatives from Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and State College and Universities (SUCs) namely, Western Philippines University, Palawan State University, Romblon State University and Marinduque State College.

In his message, Mr. Rene L. Maduro, owner and cooperator of Yamang Bukid Farm welcomed the participants in their farm and said that the reason why they were all gathered was because of one goal – that is to improve and uplift the lives of farmers and agriculture sector in the country.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pat Andrew B. Barrientos, ATI MiMaRoPa Center Director graced the activity as he challenged the cooperators to encourage the youth to see farming as one of the noblest professions in the country since the government is embarking funds for Youth Agripreneurship Program, Training on Entrepreneurial Skills and Youth Agri Expo, among others. He also said that LSAs have a big part in this endeavor being the host or venue for student’s immersion programs and OJTs.

The first day of the summit mostly revolved in the revisiting of Memorandum of Agreement which both parties – cooperator and ATI MiMaRoPa inked prior to establishment. Mr. Jayson N. Erondo, LSA Point Person of ATI MiMaRoPa discussed the obligations of both parties, particularly the reporting obligation of the cooperators to ATI MiMaRoPa which also form part of the qualifications for upgrading or scaling up of LSA to SPA.

As also request of the LSAs to come up with unified module for On-the-Job Training Program and Work Immersion of students, the second day labored on drafting modules for the students with the help of representatives from SUCs, CHED and DepEd. They said that having harmonized modules will standardize inputs and outputs of the students once they undergo training and immersion in LSAs and SPAs. In addition, they will have common set of systems to implement which each one of them will understand. The said modules were presented to the body and critiqued for further improvement.

Moreover, one of the highlights of activity was the election of regional officers of LSA, SPA and ESP. As part of the election procedure, participants filed for their candidacy for opted position whereas secret balloting was applied to maintain confidentiality. Br. George F. Maria from Yamang Bukid Farm was elected as president of the organization.

“As a young farmer entrusted by LSAs in MiMaRoPa, it is with all humility for me to work with the inspiration founded by the farming schools ahead of us. It is my joy to cooperate with the leadership of ATI under the mandate of the Department of Agriculture in its carious programs aims at attaining food security and uplifting the lives of our farmers,” Maria said.

With much support to the organization (that is yet to be named), Mr. Maduro, owner of Yamang Bukid pledged a starting operating capital amounting to PhP 100,000.00. This, he said, will help finance the operation of the organization for its endeavors.

Apart from this, the DOST also discussed their possible support and assistance for LSA and SPAs.

After thorough and “tiring” activities from the previous days, the participants then enjoyed the team building activities facilitated by ATI MiMaRoPa. Everyone of them actively participated and battled as one team. The said activity aimed at motivating to work together and bringing out the best in a team.

During its closing program, Erondo gratefully expressed his appreciation to the participants because of their active participation and commitment to LSA/SPA’s goals.
He said that as “children” of ATI, they must prove their existence through imbibing its objectives – that is to improve the lives of the farmers knowing their current status in the country. He even reminded them of the qualifications why they were certified as ATI LSA/SPA.

“One of the qualifications when you apply for certification on LSA is your willingness to share knowledge, skills and technologies to our farmers and clients. If you can’t do this and you only pushed the certification because of your own personal interest, you can’t be called as ATI children. Because, we in ATI, must cooperate and support one another, especially for the sake of our clients,” Erondo ardently said.