Villar SIPAG welcomes farmer-trainees on vegetable production

About 200 farmers were welcomed today at the Villar SIPAG (Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance) Farm School in the boundary of Las Pinas and Bacoor City who will be trained on vegetable production.

The trainees came from the National Capital Region, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal. They will undergo hands-on training on sowing, plotting, and harvesting. They will also undergo training on organic backyard farming.

This is the third training program handled by Allied Botanical Corporation (ABC), the only 100% Filipino-owned seed company with a research and development program. They train local farmers on modern farming processes and machineries. "We are very happy that our trainings are becoming more and more popular among farmers and their families. Providing our farmers with the opportunity to learn from the best and at no cost to them is one way of helping our food producers improve their yield and increase their income," Sen. Cynthia Villar, Villar SIPAG director, said.

The training program will run for three months. As the final phase, the trainees will be taught how to handle the crops during harvest. They will harvest ampalaya, upo, sitaw, cucumber, mais, sili, kamatis, talong, watermelon, melon, cherry tomato.

Villar SIPAG has also partnered with SM Foundation, Harbest Agribusiness Corporation, East West Seeds and the Department of Agriculture to hold trainings on other agriculture courses such as livestock production, mushroom production, and beekeeping.

The 7-hectare Villar SIPAG Farm School has a classroom that can accommodate 300 students, two dormitories that can accommodate 50 students, administration office, staff and workers house, farm house, bambusetum, medicinal herbal garden, tree nursery, greenhouses, vegetable garden, livestock, vermicomposting and aquaculture facilities.

It also has water impounding equipment and a hand tractor. It features organic farming and showcases the use of alternative source of energy such as solar lamp post, rump pump, and windmill power for deep-well water source.

In establishing the farm school, Villar said she hopes to be able to train farmers to become more competitive and successful by addressing the lack of technical expertise and knowhow in mechanization among Filipino farmers.