By DA IV-A RAFIS August 28, 2020 CALAMBA CITY, Laguna - About 49 army officials from the Army Reserve Command (ARESCOM) based in Camp R...
August 28, 2020
CALAMBA CITY, Laguna - About 49 army officials from the Army Reserve Command (ARESCOM) based in Camp Riego de Dios in Tanza, Cavite have completed the training in Organic Vegetable Production Program thru the Farmers Field School (FFS) of the Department of Agriculture in coordination with ARESCOM.
The training which commenced April 30 ended August 13, 2020 while the graduation ceremony was held August 20, 2020.
DA CALABARZON Regional Executive Director Arnel V. de Mesa attended the ceremony as the graduation's guest of honor.
In his speech, RED de Mesa expressed his utmost appreciation to the graduates who gave their time and effort in learning the basics of organic agriculture.
"Farming is never an easy job and farmers are our real-life heroes who never fail to give us healthy and delicious food. May this program be a stepping stone into keeping not just ARESCOM food sufficient, but also the rest of Cavite specially so during this COVID-19 pandemic", he said.
RED de Mesa pledges to give additional livestock modules like goats and poultry to ARESCOM as well as a brand-new multi-tiller to help in preparing their farm lands.
ARESCOM's Major General Peale Jon L. Bondoc expressed his gratitude to DA CALABARZON's support in their endeavor of making their campsite food sufficient through organic agriculture.
"I have nothing else to say but thank you. The Department has done its job. The challenge now is for us in ARESCOM to sustain this worthwhile intervention. Let us not put to waste the materials, equipment, and trust given to us by the agriculture department."
Major John O. Geronimo echoed his experience during the FFS, saying that his farming knowledge was developed by this project.
"This farming course helped me realize the real importance of agriculture, especially during the COVID-19 crisis that we are facing at the moment. This will not just help the camp, but other people can also benefit from whatever we will harvest or grow in our farms," Geronimo said.
On the other hand, Command Sergeant Major Artemio J. Obena said they learned everything from making organic fertilizers to keeping their crops safe by using organic pesticides and insecticides.
"I learned a lot from FFS and for someone who is about to retire, this intervention from DA will help me a lot in my retirement", he said.
Aside from the training, the DA CALABARZON also provided interventions like vegetable seeds, seedling trays, plastic mulch, nets, garden tools, compost fertilizer, cassava cuttings, mushroom production units, and livestock modules in a bid to further their knowledge in organic agriculture and hone their farming skills in order to improve food production in the camp.
The FFS in Organic Vegetable Production is only one of the many programs under DA's Integrated Organic Agriculture Production Project in coordination with ARESCOM which aims to mitigate the impact of the pandemic through adoption of proven and effective agricultural processes.
Therefore, the graduation of a new batch of agriculture enthusiasts is another step closer into the regional office's goal of making CALABARZON a food sufficient region.
Also in attendance in the graduation rites were DA officials from Cavite including Mr. Felix Joselito Noseda, Agriculture Program Coordinating Officer; Ms. Eda F. Dimapilis, Regional Organic Agriculture Prohram Coordinator; Mr. Domingo Austria, municipal agriculturist representative; and other farmers groups.(PIA-4A/DA IV-A RAFIS)
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