The Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) bagged the Outstanding Extension Project Award for its Digital Farmers Program (DFP) during the 2021 Virtual Philippine Extension and Advisory Services Network (PhilEASNet) Biennial AFFNR Extension Symposium.
During the event, ATI Officer-in-Charge Assistant Director Antonieta Arceo presented an overview of the DFP to around 200 PhilEASNet members comprised of extension professionals and practitioners from government agencies, state universities and colleges, among others.
Developed and implemented in partnership with Smart Communications, Inc., DFP is an information, communication, and technology-based capacity development program, aiming to help Filipino farmers access information online and improve their efficiencies and skills using digital technologies.
The program employs a three-course digital literacy sequence, covering from basic digital tools such as smartphone and social media to more complex services such as e-commerce and online payment systems. Moreover, DFP aims to provide an avenue to promote and maximize the use of existing agriculture-focused digital tools and applications developed by both government and private institutions.
In 2019, DFP was piloted in 15 sites and has trained around 400 participants. Now, despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the program continues to roll out nationwide through face-to-face, virtual, and blended modes of delivery. As of third quarter of this year, DFP has capacitated more than 1,800 participants including farmers, rural youth, and agricultural extension workers.
Allowing the program to reach more people and raise awareness on the many opportunities in agriculture, DFP likewise launched a free online learning course composed of microlearning videos based on the beginner track of the program. The DFP 101 e-Learning Course was made available at the ATI’s e-Extension Portal (http://e-extension.gov.ph/elearning) in February 2021.
DFP’s win as the 2021 Outstanding Extension Project was shared with the Cavite State University for their initiative entitled “The Cavite State University Bee Program: Adopting communities for Responsible Bee keeping”.
With the theme “Governance of Extension Systems for the New Future”, the 2021 Virtual PhilEASNet Biennial AFFNR Extension Symposium was held on October 14-15, 2021 via Zoom.