QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- A total of 50 young Filipino farmers from different regions of the country are set to leave for Taiwan on August 14 until July 2023 to complete their 11-month Internship Program.

They are the second batch of interns of the Filipino Young Farmers Internship Program in Taiwan (FYFIPT) who completed their pre-qualifying requirements, which included a series of short courses on various agricultural technologies as well as basic Mandarin language and culture classes and the pre-departure orientation course.

During the send-off ceremony conducted by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Monday, Undersecretary and Chief-of-Staff of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Leocadio S. Sebastian urged the young farmers to look at the attitude and mindset of Taiwanese farmers on agriculture and development.

“As you go around, try to learn the things that they have been developing and acclimatize it to what is suitable for us,” he said.

Sebastian also encouraged them to be the future agripreneurs who are able to find the “uniqueness of the Philippine agriculture.”

Likewise, ATI Director Rosana Mula challenged them to showcase the agricultural practices they have learned in the country, and “learn from the technologies, values, and culture of Taiwan.”

Meanwhile, Director Cesar Drilon Jr. of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office advised the young farmers to spread the knowledge and experience they will gain during their stay in Taiwan and make the Philippine agriculture a competitive sector.

For their part, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office represented by Ambassador Peiyung Hsu, reminded the young farmers of their mission “to become the future agri-entrepreneurs and farmer leaders of the Philippines,” and thus, it is necessary to “do everything well, learn everything well, and understand everything well” during their stay in Taiwan.

The FYFIPT is one of the several youth programs of the ATI in cooperation with various international partners, which aims to create, develop and shape empowered youth farmer-leaders and agricultural entrepreneurs.

The second batch of FYFIPT interns  comprised of five representatives from the Cordillera Administrative Region, four interns from Region I, two representatives each coming from Regions II and III, four interns from CALABARZON, three young farmers from MIMAROPA; five young farmers from Region V, four interns from Region VI, three representatives each coming from Regions VII and VIII, four representatives from Region IX, five young farmers from Region X, two interns from Region XI, two representatives from Region XII, and one intern from Region XIII. One young farmer is also representing the International Training Center on Pig Husbandry. (DA/PIA-NCR)