CEBU CITY — The 7th Japan Agricultural Exchange Council Alumni Association of the Philippines (JAECAAP) National Convention served as a way to strengthen support among its members as they laid out new plans for the years to come. The convention was spearheaded by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) as one of the activities supported by the Institute for rural-based organizations.

JAECAAP is composed of farmers who have successfully graduated from the Young Filipino Farmers’ Training Program in Japan (YFFTPJ) with the aim to share their knowledge to communities and other youth involved in farming. Through their annual gathering, they were able to set their plans for the next years such as development of learning sites, regular monitoring of members, and updating of registration in the Securities and Exchange Commission.

At the helm of these plans are the new set of officers and board of directors of the association who were elected during the convention. Leading them are Domingo Dela Cruz of the Region 4-B or the MiMaRoPa region as president and Alexander Calucag of Region I as executive vice president.

Other highlights of the event include the team-building activities and the shaaring of their best practices and learning experiences in an open forum. A series of talks about agri-business plan, edible landscaping, and climate change was also held.

“I am glad to be able to attend this convention as we were able to make plans for JAECAAP. It is indeed important to know where we are right now, particularly in terms of developing our farms and the improvement of our lives,” Dominique Acedera from Region VIII said.

During the opening ceremonies, Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Operations Ariel Cayanan sent his message of support to the group as they craft new plans and projects.

The activity was organized by the ATI through its Partnerships and Accreditation Division, in collaboration with ATI-Regional Training Center VII last April 4 to 6, 2017 at the Golden Peak Hotel and Suites in this city.