BAGUIO CITY – The City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) continues to implement measures to entice the city’s youth to embrace agriculture as one of their major activities to help sustain food production and contribute in ensuring food security in the future.
City Veterinarian Dr. Silardo Bested said that the local government continues to provide programs and opportunities that nurture the talents and potentials of the young generation of residents.
He claimed that the institutionalized 4H program in collaboration with the Department of Education and Agricultural Training Institute provides a learning platform to public school students on practical and hands-on gardening technologies, peer to peer learning and leadership development.
Further, he added that the Filipino young farmers Internship Program in Taiwan empowered the selected young farmers by providing them the skills, knowledge and opportunities needed to support the local government’s efforts to foster innovation, support local farmers and agripreneurs, and create job opportunities that directly contribute in the sustained implementation of the city’s strategic goals, particularly on economic development and competitiveness.
According to him, well trained farmers and providing opportunities to continuous learning fosters innovation, enabling farmers to adopt sustainable practices, increase productivity and better prepared to compete in local and global markets, enhancing the overall economic competitiveness.
Bested pointed out that improved agricultural infrastructure such as irrigation systems, production facilities, farm to market roads and seedling nurseries increase farming efficiency and reduces post-harvest losses.
Moreover, efficient transportation support through the Kadiwa trucks reduces the time and cost of moving goods from farms to markets, and buying agricultural inputs from markets to farms, thereby increasing profitability.
He emphasized that the CVAO’s initiatives is also aimed at revitalizing urban spaces and improving infrastructure is aligned with the local government’s strategic goals on urban regeneration. By Dexter A. See
