TACLOBAN CITY –The region has the most number of learning sites and school for practical agriculture (SPA) which serves as venues for demonstration and promotion of sustainable ecotourism through organic farming.
These schools are located in the provinces of Southern Leyte, Leyte, Biliran, and Samar, and in the cities of Ormoc and Tacloban, Director Vilma Patindol of the Agricultural Training Institute Regional Training Center 8 (ATI-RTC 8), said.
They serves as school for hands-on training and the farmer-owner acts as the teacher and community extension worker serves as farmers to further enhance their farming knowledge and skills as well as for those who would want to venture in farming.
Among these farm schools are Canaan Hills Farm in Caibiran, Biliran;Bendicar Farm Agri-Eco Tourism in Sogod, Southern Leyte; Villa Conzoilo Community Association in Jaro,Leyte; Uncle Job’s Farm in Mahaplag, Leyte; Juanito Eco Farm School for Practical Agriculture (JEFSPA) in Kananga, also in Leyte; Bendicar’s Farm & Food Products, La Caridad Farm both in Sogod; RGV Farm in Macrohon and the Mercedes Upland Farmers Development Association (MUFDA) in Silago, both in Southern Leyte; McKinley Integrated Diversified Organic Farming System Farmer’s Association (MIDOFSFA) in Catarman, Northern Samar; Mila and Maning’s Farm in Borongan City, Aragon’s Nature Farm in Ormoc City and La Granja here in Tacloban City.
Senator Cynthia Villar, who chairs the committee on agriculture and food, has been urging farmers’ organizations and farm owners to convert their farm lands into SPAs to help in the food security and in teaching other farmers on the new technology of farming to increase their production and income.
“Farmers are important part of our country that is why I want to help in improving and uplifting the condition by improving their income. Farmers might stop cultivating their farms if their income will not increase which may result to food security problem,” Villar said in a statement.
The senator is the main authored of Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
