SEARICE Program Officer for Mindanao, Guiller Domingo, leading the field lecture on corn improvements. Domingo is also an agriculturist and plant breeder.
Participants to the SEARICE-CPSU organized Training of Trainors.
Representatives of 15 farmers' associations in Bago and Kabankalan cities, in Negros Occidental Province, Philippines, took part in a SEARICE-organized Training of Trainers (ToT) from 23-27 September 2024 to enhance the farmers' crop breeding and selection.
The ToT, which was conducted by SEARICE in partnership with the Central Philippines State University (CPSU), included demonstrations and field exercises on data gathering, pollination of priority crops, mass selection, seed rehabilitation, breeding methods, seed handling for storing as plant genetic material, and alternative animal feed creation. The ToT was held at different indoor and outdoor venues in the CPSU.
Among the resource persons for the ToT were Eddie Sasi, first chairman of FARMERS ORGANIZATION FOR ORGANIC DIVERSIFIED SYSTEM (FOODS), whose goal is to empower farmers to promote and practice organic and diversified farming towards achieving sustainable livelihoods and increased income, and Guiller Domingo from SEARICE Mindanao, who gave inputs on methods and techniques for plant breeding and the development of their priority crop varieties through lectures and demonstration.
Domingo said, "One of the notable objectives met during this training is that farmers now recognize harmful and beneficial insects found in their fields through the agroecosystem analysis we conducted with them. They were also able to appreciate the use of organic farming methods and abstinence from harmful chemicals in farming to protect beneficial insects that naturally help in our agricultural activities and to ensure that our agricultural products are safe for consumption." [Ends]