Friday, May 04, 2007

Rice Farmers Expect Better Harvest With WOMB Training

BUTUAN CITY, Caraga Region, rice farmers expect better harvests after attending the Training on Rice Farming Technology held recently in Barangay Maguinda, Butuan City, home to one of the 11 Farmers’ Information and Technology Services (FITS) centers in the region.
The training featured WOMB technologies, Integrated Pest Manage- ment (IPM), and Crop Establishment and Management presented by resource persons from Philippine Rice Research Institute Remedios T. Romualdez (PhiliRice RTR), Mr. Frenciso L. Varquez, Mr. Eliseo H. Batay-an, and Mr. Tijani B. Auxtero respectively.
Aside from their potential to improve productivity, these technologies are also considered environment friendly.
WOMB involves waste management, organic farming, microbial, and farm biomass tech-nologies. By converting organic wastes into organic fertilizers, farmers adopting WOMB help in the local waste management efforts.
IPM, on the other hand, is a holistic approach to pest management that combines existing pest control methods (biological controls, cultural practices, physical techniques pest-resistant varieties) that are most economical and least harmful to humans and the environment. The use of pesticides in IPM is an option of last resort.
With these tech-nologies,Caraga far-mers look forward to better and sustainable rice production.
The Caraga Con-sortium for Agriculture Forestry Resources Research and De-velopment facilitated the training in cooperation with PhiliRice RTR and the local government of Butuan City.
The training, attended by about 30 farmers, is an offshoot of the technology needs assessment conducted by the PCARRD in the region last year. (Mylene J. Samonte, DENR-13) /MP

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