DILIMAN, Quezon City - Farmers and farming enthusiasts revisited the basics of vegetable production and explored the benefits of processing them during the free seminar on organic vegetable production and processing.

More than 260 farm enthusiasts across the metro and nearby provinces joined the event spearheaded by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI). Renato Dela Cruz, chief of the ATI’s Partnership and Accrediation Division, formally opened the event and emphasized the importance of organic farming especially to the youth.

"Nutrition correlates with intelligence. We should teach the younger generation to eat vegetables regularly and the importance of planting and taking care of them," Dela Cruz said.

Luis Bausa, farm and training manager of the Duran Farm Agribusiness and Training Center, shared his expertise and own experience in the production of organic vegetables during the seminar. He provided tips and techniques in areas such as crop rotation, diversified farming, pest and diseases management, and others.

In addition, Bausa lectured on and demonstrated the steps in processing vegetables into pickles. Some of the participants tried for themselves how to make sayote (chayote), ampalaya (bitter gourd), and okra (lady's fingers) pickles.

"Processing vegetables is a good way for farmers to have additional income. Instead of throwing your leftover vegetables, process them and you will increase its value and shelf life," Bausa shared.

Some of participants were already producing vegetables even before joining the seminar. One of them is Lily Foronda from Quezon City who is into urban gardening. She has been planting herbs and spices on her rooftop.

"Thanks to this seminar, I got an idea to add vegetables to my garden. I plan to plant pechay (Chinese cabbage), sili (chili), and mustard. With this, we can have our own food within our home," Foronda shared.

The Free Seminar on Organic Vegetable Production and Processing was held last June 8 in this city.