DILIMAN, Quezon City—Organic agriculture continues to boom in the country and people living in the cities are starting to take interest in farming. Taking advantage of this trend, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) conducted two seminars on organic agriculture for the urban setting this year.

Following the free seminar on organic concoctions held in February, Duran Agribusiness and Training Center farm and training manager Luis Bausa returned to ATI to share about the vermiculture technology for organic farming.

In his lecture, he emphasized the importance of producing food through organic-based methods including the use of organic fertilizer. He then introduced the processes in the vermicomposting technology which involves the use of African night crawler. With vermicompost being rich in micronutrients essential for soil fertility, Bausa stressed the importance of feeding the soil to produce good quality crops. He also talked about how vermicomposting can be a profitable enterprise.

Desiree "Daisy" Duran, president and founder of Duran Agribusiness and Training Center, was likewise present and shared her successes in farming. She also answered questions from some of the participants in an open forum, giving them faming inputs as tokens for their participation.

One of these participants is Effie Monforte, a retired banker from Mandaluyong City who has attended countless other free seminars, “The subject matter is relevant to our times. To keep the citizenry in good health, there is a growing awareness on organic farming. The profile of the attendees has changed overtime, so it looks like people from all walks of life are interested in organic farming.”

The year-long free seminar series is part of the Institute’s initiatives to provide quality extension services. This latest seminar was held at the ATI Mess Hall on April 13, 2018 and attended by around 370 agriculture buffs from the National Capital Region, Central Luzon, CaLaBarZon, and MiMaRoPa.