UOA on White Corn Production Brings Farmer Closer

Pose with the graduates of Nasipit, Agusan del Norte

“Learning together is fun”.

This was the words shared by Ma. Lourdes Bacsarpa, a barangay kagawad of Aclan, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte and one of the students on the University on the Air (UOA) on White Corn Production.

She said that every 5:30 in the afternoon farmers in their community converge together to listen the radio program and afterwards they themselves discussed and shared what they had learned.

“Imbis nga manglibak, among estoryahan ang among mga nadungog sa leksiyon sa radyo, at least nahimong kalidad ang among oras ug wa masayang” (Instead of gossiping, we will discussed what we had heard on the radio, at least we had quality time and it was not wasted), Bacsarpa narrated.

She is just one of the 400 farmer students who successfully graduated after three months of listening the radio program discussing the right technology on white corn production.

UOA on White Corn Production is a radio program teaching the farmers on the right technology on white corn production jointly undertaken by the Information Section and AgriPinoy Corn program of the Department of Agriculture Caraga in collaboration with the municipal local government units of Nasipit, Agusan del Norte; Loreto, Agusan del Sur; Madrid, Surigao del Sur; Pilar, Surigao del Norte and their respective provincial LGUs.

In Agusan del Norte it was aired over Real Radio Butuan; in Agusan del Sur over La Vida FM, a community radio in Loreto; in Surigao del Sur over Sure FM and Heart FM and in Surigao del Norte over DXSN Surigao.

Successful students received their certificate of completion during the mass graduation held on their respective municipalities recently.

Lucita Aninao, an outstanding student in Loreto, Agusan del Sur said that she feels so privilege of enrolling the course.

“Nalipay kaayo ko kay daghan kaayo ko ug nakat-unan unya magamit gyud sa akong panginabuhian” (I am so happy because I’ve learned a lot which is so useful for my livelihood), she said.

Meanwhile Vice Mayor Loreto Resurreccion, Jr. of Pilar, Surigao del Norte expressed his gratitude to the Department of Agriculture because despite of their distance, DA eyed their constituents to avail of such kind of program.

The University on the Air on White Corn Production is on second year of its implementation since 2013 with a total of 960 students mostly corn farmers themselves graduated from the broadcast course.

UOA on White Corn Production is an Information Section’s way of supporting the AgriPinoy Corn Program of promoting white corn for human food consumption in conjunction with the Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP).

FSSP promotes alternative food staples aside from rice such as corn, banana, adlai, cassava and other rootcrops. (Aurelius P. Arais/DA CARAGA Information and Public Relation Section)


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