TESDA to build farm school

January 11, 2017

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has said that it will soon build a farm school to help uplift the lives and skills of farmers and fishers.

TESDA Director General, Secretary Guiling “Gene” Mamondiong has said that the farm school also aims to increase the earnings of the fishers and farmers.

“Specifically, the project aims to provide scholarship grants to the farmers and fisherfolks, their families and relatives, extension workers and facilitators and trainers to assist the farm owners in building the capability and capacity of their farms thus increase productivity,” said Mamondiong in his TESDA circular.

Assisting TESDA in the project are the Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Training Institute (DA-ATI) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) which will help the agency find the place where the farm school will be built.

A recent study showed that a farmer who owns 1.5 hectares of land would only earn P2,300 a month.

Mamondiong said that the amount is not sufficient for a farmer who raises a family.

The TESDA chief also said that children of farmers do not want to go into farming because of the small earning.

“The concept of the farm schools is based on the Farm Field Schools (FFS) developed by the UN Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) to help farmers become competitive and seize advantage of the opportunities in the market by operating their farms efficiently and profitably," he said.

Mamondiong also ordered the regional and provincial directors of TESDA to inform their localities about the future farm school and enlist in the program.