To mark the 10th year anniversary of the Philippine e-Extension Program, the Agricultural Training Institute gathers once again its partner agencies, e-learning experts and practitioners who have made relevant contributions in advancing electronic extension services in the country. Dubbed as e-Extension InTENsity Summit, the event is a venue for knowledge sharing on innovations and best practices as well as highlights in their deployment for the e-extension services across the country.
The e-Extension Program for Agriculture and Fisheries is a network of institutions that provide a more efficient alternative to a traditional extension system for agriculture, fisheries and natural resources sectors. It maximizes the use of information and communication technology to attain a modernized agriculture and fisheries sector. It focuses on creating an electronic and interactive bridge where farmers, fishers and other stakeholders meet and transact to enhance productivity, profitability and global competitiveness.
The Institute, in collaboration with its partner institutions, introduced the program initially with e-learning courses on farming technologies. From five courses, the e-learning component is now offering 55 courses with more partner institutions from the government and state universities and colleges across the country. Likewise, to provide farming and business advisory services in e-extension, ATI launched the Farmers' Contact Center in 2009 with subject matter specialists from the different government agencies under the Department of Agriculture.
The third component, e-trading, piloted FilFARM or the Filipino Farmers Are Ready to Market, providing avenues for farmers to sell their products. FilFARM is currently in the pilot stage to ensure a secured system for online transactions between farmers and buyers using an e-trading portal.
The e-Extension InTENsity Summit is being held today, December 11, 2017, at Lima Park Hotel in Malvar, Batangas.