MARVIN DOMINGUEZ CONLAS/UM INTERN
THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture urged the children of farmers and fisherfolks to apply for their scholarship programs under the agency’s training and extensions arm.
During a briefing at SM Lanang last Tuesday, May 21, Ma. Cristin Rosan Besario, DA XI media production and specialist, said the training and scholarship program teaches students how to use modern technologies to make farmwork faster, easier, and more efficient.
ThE program will hopefully increase the production of rice, corn, high-value crops, organic agriculture, and livestock. Among the things that will be taught are the various processes of that product, entrepreneurship, leadership, project proposal development, and financial literacy training. In addition to the official, it is also important to teach the students and farmers how to think about business.
She said the scholarship involves degree and non-degree programs. Under the degree program, the DA XI provides educational assistance to young people pursuing a degree course lasting four to five years. These courses include a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, and Agricultural and Bio-Science Engineering.
Meanwhile, for the non-degree program, the DA offers a youth scholarship grant on organic farming. The duration is 21 months and they will stay on a partner farm for nine months to learn its operations and management. The remaining year will be spent applying what they learned in their respective locality.
The international exchange program also sends young people to Japan or Taiwan to learn about modern technology, smart farming, aquaculture, swine, and dairy farming. The criteria include being 20 to 35 years old, and for Japan, applicants should not have tattoos.
Lynn Leopoldo, a coordinator at the DA, acknowledged that these programs were created because the country is significantly behind in modern farming compared to other countries.
