QUEZON CITY, Metro Manila—Six young Filipino farmers are set to welcome new opportunities to further their respective farming businesses through a one-month exchange program with farming families in Japan.

Under Tier 2 of the Agricultural Training Institute’s (ATI) Young Farmers’ Program (YFP), this young breed of farmers will train with Japanese farmers on different agricultural technologies for one month. They are expected to learn the Japanese practices and techniques on rice, fruit, swine, and poultry production and apply these to their farms upon return.

BUTUAN CITY, Agusan del Norte—Farmers can now avail themselves of digital micro-financing services through the Accelerated Growth and Rural Inclusion (AGRI) platform of FINTQnologies Corp. (FINTQ).

AGRI is the latest feature of FINTQ’s KasamaKA initiative, a grassroots-based, bottom-up, and multi-sectoral social advocacy program for inclusive growth. This platform aims to provide small farmers and fishers easier access to affordable financing to help increase their productivity and expand their connections to markets.

DILIMAN, Quezon City—A few years ago, 51-year-old Henry Cheock started a small pig-raising business, but had to give it up later on because he had little knowledge about the technologies used and the industry considerations.

Now, Cheock is planning to try it again. This time, with a little help from the experts from the Agricultural Training Institute-International Training Center on Pig Husbandry (ATI-ITCPH).

In a special free seminar held by the ATI, Cheock and 15 other pig husbandry enthusiasts learned the basics of swine business planning.

DILIMAN, Quezon City—“You can make money even at home,” Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary for Administration and Finance Francisco Villano, Jr. said as he spoke to a group of personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

In a special seminar held for around 35 fire protection officers, Villano stressed the importance of developing one’s financial literacy as this will help ensure the future of one’s children and family.

NOVALICHES, Quezon City—The youth, as they say, is the hope and future of the nation, and maybe especially so for the agriculture sector.

Hence, to encourage more young people, especially those in the metro, to engage in farming, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) conducts school visits to talk about the basics of urban agriculture to students and teachers.

This is part of the project entitled “Glamourizing Farming through Urban Agriculture: Metropolitan Youth in Sustainable and Healthy Living” spearheaded by the ATI-Partnerships and Accreditation Division (PAD).

BAYBAY CITY, Leyte—Visayas State University Director for Extension Efren Saz urged officers and members of the 4-H Volunteer Leaders Association of the Philippines (4H-VLAP) to maximize the opportunities they have to champion the needs and potentials of the rural youth.

“You can make your organization a formal organization and enter partnerships with government agencies and entities. You can even become an accredited agricultural extension service,” Saz told the participants of the National Training on Organizational Management for 4-H VLAP.