Republic of the Philippines
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Philippine Center for Postharvest
Development and Mechanization
CLSU Compound, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija

NEWS STORIES

Postharvest training eyed for agrarian reform beneficiaries
by Helen R. Calica (March 5, 2005)
A writeshop to enhance the technical capability of the Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) beneficiaries on postharvest technologies and enterprise development was held at BPRE, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija on March 15-16, 2005.

A pool of postharvest experts consisting of the technical staff of the bureau's Postharvest Systems Department (PHSD), Postharvest Engineering Department (PHED) and Training and Extension Department (TED) as well as consultants from the Department of Land Reform-Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Program (DLR-ARISP) attended the writeshop. They crafted a training design for the conduct of training courses fitted to the needs of the ARCs nationwide. Issues and concerns of both agencies were also discussed and considered in the preparation of the final training design. The preparation of monitoring system as part of the follow-up and coaching activity will also be finalized soon.

This collaborative project between BPRE and DLR-ARISP is an effort of both agencies to address the problems of losses on postharvest operations and to teach the beneficiaries on enterprise development. The project aims to increase the knowledge and skills of farmer-leaders and technicians in increasing income through adoption and utilization of improved postharvest practices/technology. It will also train the ARC groups on the basic entrepreneurial skills and help them appreciate the importance of cooperatives in abating postharvest losses. The technical experts will also assist the trained ARC groups in the operationalization and management of their respective agricultural ventures through coaching and regular monitoring activities.