Organic Vegetable Production Training Held in Banilad
A group of farmers from Barangay Banilad, Dumaguete City, completed a four-month long training on organic farming Tuesday. The thirty farmers started their training last July, which was conducted through the efforts of the local government unit, the City Agriculturist’s Office and the Agricultural Training Institute of the Department of Agriculture. This is the second organic farming training that was held at the barangay.
According to City Agriculture Officer William Ablong, the Farmer Field School: Season-Long Training on Organic Vegetable Production is one way of promoting organic farming by introducing a technology that will increase the yield of the farmers and thereby, answering the increasing demand for organic products in the local market.
The farmers were introduced to Integrated Pests Management, a technology that utilizes biological control agents, such as Trichogamma Chilonis, to fight pests that beset crops and plants. During simple graduation ceremonies, the farmers harvested their produce of tomatoes, eggplants and other crops.
Ablong thanked the training teams and also the DCCCO Multi-Purpose Cooperative for providing materials, food and other logistical support to the participants during the duration of the training. He also encouraged other local government units to hold similar training in support to the target of making Negros Island as the Organic Capital of the Philippines.
