The Department of Agriculture (DA) – Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program’s Phase 1 implementation continues to provide training to its farmer-beneficiaries in Sarangani Province.
The Organic Products of Alabel Marketing Cooperative (OPAMCO) underwent specialized training for the establishment of BPI-Accredited Enterprise-Based Crop Nurseries.
This SAAD activity introduced important aspects in establishing a crop nursery and a step-by-step guide on plant propagation to prepare the farmer’s association (FA) in establishing their nursery.
Twenty (20) members of OPAMCO attended the said training on March 13-14, 2023 in General Santos City. The FA was chosen since their area had no existing crop nurseries up to date.
The participants were presented with a hands-on demonstration on plant propagation as well as a discussion on the requirements for a typical nursery and a step-by-step guide on grafting facilitated by Lolita Tomas, DA 12 Senior Research Specialist of the Department of Agriculture 12 Tupi Research Outreach Station (RES).
A field tour at the DA 12-Tupi RES in Bololmala, Tupi, South Cotabato was also done to showcase the plant nursery, soil preparation, collection of scion from mother trees at the station, and grafting rambutan seedlings to give the farmers an idea on how to properly graft their planting materials.
SAAD aims to guide these farmers in creating an income generating crop nursery to improve their economic status.
Aside from this training, the members of the FA also received a total of 32 packs of assorted vegetable seeds and tools for propagation such as grafting knives, gardening gloves, and long sleeved shirts that cost PhP21,400. SAAD’s conduct of training and provision of farming inputs created a starting point for farmers to slowly begin building their nurseries.
“Dako jud ang tabang aning training sa amua. Nakatuon mi sa tama nga pamaagi sa plant propagation ug pag establish sa plant nursery kay wa pa ni sa amuang lugar. Nag-enjoy pud ko sa training kay nay hands-on nga training sa actual nga plant nursery,” said OPAMCO President Victorio Lajato.
(This training is a big help to us. We learned the proper ways on plant propagation and nursery establishment since we do not have this in our locality. I enjoyed the training because we got to do actual hands-on training in an actual plant nursery.)
As SAAD’s Phase 1 ends, its Phase 2 implementation will soon begin with the continued goal of supporting farmers in the most disadvantaged areas of the province.
Through this initiative, beneficiaries will receive vital assistance to enhance their quality of life and improve their livelihood.