THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines-Los Baños continues to reach out to farmers through its National Corn-based Farmer-Scientists RDE Training Program.

The program was revived in January 2021 to push the goal of enhancing farmer’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes through training programs and the conduct of research and experiments.

Dr. Romulo G. Davide, national program leader, gave assurances that safety protocols will be strictly observed during the training.

He said that the FSTP Center of Management and Operations in UPLB “shall continuously monitor and evaluate the performance of FSTP farmers as well as the municipal and regional coordinators to know their needs and problems that we may have the solution.”

The FSTP has sent through courier different varieties of corn seeds, Bio-N fertilizers, and planting materials such as high-yielding varieties of sweet potato and cassava to different regions and municipalities.

The university said it used distance learning platforms and video materials to engage the farmers who are undergoing the training program nationwide.

The farmer-participants undergo a three-phase training to ensure that they are well equipped to participate in the program.

“In particular, they are trained in the scientific methods of farming, to become receptive to the adoption of new technologies, capacitated to engage in agribusiness, and committed to spreading knowledge to their communities,” UPLB said.

“Phase I involves teaching of spiritual and moral values, research methods, and technical empowerment. Phase II is focused on the replication of the experiments conducted in Phase I in their own farms. In Phase III, the farmer-scientists, this time taking on the role of trainers, teach their fellow farmers the technologies that they (farmer-scientists) had already adopted,” it added.

Last year, the FSTP conducted 36 training sessions with the help of the regional offices of the local government units.

“In May 2020, select FSTP staff produced a series of video learning materials to aid in the distance learning of ongoing farmer-scientists,” UPLB said.

The videos include soil sampling, farm layouting, planting and corn breeding, harvesting, and data gathering methods.

The FSTP launched new project sites in 15 municipalities in the provinces of Abra, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, Camarines Sur, Palawan, Oriental Mindoro, Northern Samar, Biliran, Bukidnon, Zamboanga del Sur, and Agusan del Sur.