About 20 indigenous peoples (IP) farmers here have completed a two-day training on crops and livestock production conducted by the Department of Agriculture in Caraga region (DA-13).
In a statement Saturday, the DA-13 said the IP farmers, who are residents of Sitio Malihao, Barangay Bonbon in this city, belong to the Manobo and Higaonon tribes and members of the Mt. Mayapay Tribal Council.
“The training, conducted on September 2 to 3, was designed to promote sustainable farming and create livelihood opportunities while conserving the indigenous ecosystem and promoting biodiversity,” it said.
The activity also provided the tribal council the opportunity to venture into food and income-generating ventures through organic farming technologies.
Topics presented during the two-day training include upland rice and corn production and vegetable and poultry production.
The participants were also trained on integrated and diversified organic farming systems and natural farming technology systems.
DA-13 Director Abel James Monteagudo graced the conduct of the training, as he emphasized the significance of innovations, skills, and appropriate agricultural technologies to achieve food security and sufficiency.
“Educating the IPs with the appropriate technologies is a tool to encourage them to maximize the use of the ancestral agricultural lands and turn it into productive, profitable, self-sustained, and developed resilient agricultural enterprises,” Monteagudo said.
He added that DA-13 will continue to build its partnership with the IP communities through regular and special programs, such as the Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran ng Kababayang Katutubo (4Ks) Program and Special Areas for Agricultural Development Program.
He also encouraged the IP group to register their association as a farmers’ organization to receive more interventions from the government.
“Inclusivity is something that the department promotes and ensures to implement by providing equal opportunities for everybody, regardless of age, gender, religion or political belief, and ethnicity,” Monteagudo said.
After the training, the IP farmers were also provided with certified rice and corn seeds, vegetable seeds, and garden tools.
Source: Philippines News Agency