48 Farmers Finish Palaycheck Training

48 Farmers Finish 

Palaycheck Training

by: James Earl E. Ogatis

PalayCheck Farmers Field School Graduation. Mr. Ernie Rosendo Villanueva, DA-Agricultural Program Coordinating Officer for Guimaras encouraging the farmers to strengthen their respective association in order to avail more agricultural interventions from the government. (JEEO/RAFIS 6 photo)

Some 48 rice farmers of Buenavista, Guimaras finished the 16 weeks training on PalayCheck System conducted by the local farmer technicians (LFT) and agricultural extension workers. The training was in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (DA) 6 and Guimaras provincial office for agricultural services on January 12, 2015.

Mr. Ernie Rosendo Villanueva, agricultural program coordinating officer (APCO) of Guimaras said that PalayCheck is a system wherein farmers review every step of farming practices from seed selection, land preparation, water and fertilizer management, pest and diseases up to post harvest practices to ensure increase production.

Villanueva said that Buenavista is one of the aggressive municipalities in livestock and poultry production aside from rice production in Guimaras.

“You must strengthen your respective farmers’ association in your barangays in order to avail additional intervention from the DA aside from this training.” Villanueva advised the farmers.

He stressed that there should be no high and low areas in the field for them to maximize water utilization as well as manage fertilizer and weeds effectively.

Mayor Eugenio G. Reyes expressed his full support to farmers and agricultural stakeholders in the municipality and encouraged them to produce more rice to ensure sustainable and enough supply.

Reyes challenged the 48 farmer-graduates to produce more agricultural products and adhere to this year’s theme of annual “Palayag Festival which is Agrikultura kag Industriya para sa taga Buenavista, Bisita kag iban pa.”

Mayor Reyes believes that his municipality has sufficient agricultural resources to feed its population and not to rely on products coming from nearby province of Iloilo.

Among his priorities are the protection and conservation of coastal marine resources, development of idle agricultural lands and sustaining the livestock and poultry industry in Buenavista.

Meanwhile, Ronnie Morante, the provincial agriculturist encourages farmers to produce organic rice because of its high market demand and good price. He said the province is 118 percent sufficient in rice as of last year. /MP