Benguet town prods farmers to learn new technologies through TESDA courses on agriculture
By PCOO
MANILA, Feb. 2 — The municipal government of Kapangan in Benguet is encouraging its local farmers to take advantage of available skills development courses offered to them through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
On Tuesday, Mayor Manny Fermin said that Kapangan and TESDA have been partners in initiating capacity-building activities to local farmers, especially in introducing new farming technologies, such as in organic agriculture.
The town will also be a recipient of a training center, which will be beneficial to its target training scholars should this be materialized soon.
“Ito po ay i-concentrate natin sa mga farmers. Ang Kapangan kasi is almost 80% farmers [We will concentrate on the trainings for farmers, since 80% of the residents here are farmers],” he said during the Network Briefing News hosted by Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar.
Mayor Fermin stressed that the local government is pushing on further aiding the agriculture sector, citing its advantages in helping not only its residents but also the nearby municipalities secure their own food and be updated on the latest technologies.
He invited farmers from the towns of Tublay, Kibungan, Atok, and Bakon to join another course this February.
“This will also be a chance for the municipality of Kapangan na sila po ay mag-aral na rin po dito sa TESDA [This will also be a chance for the municipality of Kapangan to learn through TESDA],” he said.
Kape yat da: Kapangan urges locals to patronize homegrown coffee products
Like most of the towns in Benguet, Kapangan is known for its homegrown coffee. Mayor Fermin said that they already have a production facility for this and is being utilized to package and market its products outside of Benguet.
The local chief executive noted that the products should be patronized first by its local residents before shipping out of the province.
“Minsan ang ginagawa natin ay [nilalabas] yung product natin pero ‘di pa natitikman ng mga locals. Kaya sabi ko, pondohan natin sa mga market at maliliit na tindahan para naman tayo ‘yung mag-consume muna [Sometimes, what we do is send our products out but our locals have not tasted them yet. So I said, we should put these products in the market and stores here so that we can have the opportunity to consume them first],” he said. (PCOO)
