“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” said Siquijor Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Officer-in-Charge Provincial Director Fletcher Gumahad, quoting the Italian proverb as he emphasized the importance of skills in life.
In support to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in establishing a sustainable and resilient Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources (AANR) based Science and Technology Community Livelihood and in promoting inclusive development for the community, TESDA Siquijor granted scholarship for skills training for the acquisition of Certificate of Competency (COC) on Organic Fertilizer Production (Organic Agriculture Production) NC II to 25 Bitaug Small Coconut Farmers Association (BISMACOFA) members on July 31, 2021.
The scholarship grant, which is a project between TESDA and Siquijor State College (SSC), specifically supports DOST in the management of projects managed by BISMACOFA under the S&T Community-based Program for Inclusive Development (STC4iD) program of DOST– Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST – PCAARRD) and the DOST-7’s Community Empowerment Through Science and Technology (CEST) program through the Siquijor Provincial S&T Center (PSTC).
Some of the projects managed by BISMACOFA are peanut production and vermicompost production under CEST and a Techno Demo Farm planted with fruit trees, vegetables, and spices integrated with swine and native chicken-raising and communal gardens planted with a variety of commodities in four puroks at Bitaug, Enrique Villanueva, Siquijor, under the STC4iD.
Both projects under CEST and STC4iD explore and promote organic agriculture.
CEST is on vermicompost production while STC4iD applies the vermicompost product to its farms.
Peanut production, which is a component of the CEST project, also applies the organic fertilizer.
The projects have also promoted organic agriculture in neighboring farms and barangays by sharing the organic fertilizer.
TESDA Siquijor saw it fit to develop BISMACOFA in the area of organic fertilizer production through Organic Agriculture Production NC II and through a COC to expand the opportunity of the members of the community.
The scholarship course will train the farmers in producing organic farm products including organic supplements such as fertilizer, concoctions, and extracts.
Other examples of skills that they will acquire from enrolling in the course include applying safety measures in farm operations, using farm tools and equipment, performing estimation and calculations, developing and updating industry knowledge, performing record keeping, raising organic chicken, producing organic vegetables, raising organic hogs (elective) and raising organic small ruminants (elective).
Aside from a free course, the TESDA scholarship also comes with allowances for each scholar and free assessment to acquire the COC. (PR/Engr. Joelline Ann Ates, SRA & IO-designate/DOST Siquijor PSTC S&T Media Service)
