Celebrating the National Rice Awareness Month and the Organic Agriculture Month, the walk provided an opportunity for the participants to distribute educational materials to residents down the Divisoria to Rodelsa Circle stretch.
Department of Agriculture (DA)-10, National Food Authority (NFA), Philippine Crops Insurance, Corp. (PCIC), Agricultural Productivity Operations Office-CDO, Misamis Oriental Provincial Agriculture Office, and operators of 40 learning sites for agriculture (LSA) in northern Mindanao took part in the activity.
“Isa ni siya sa pag-promote sa awareness ngadto sa mga consumers on how to be responsible for their consumption (This is one way of promoting awareness to the consumers on being responsible for their consumption),” said ATI RTC-10 Center Director Maria Lydia A. Echavez.
Echavez continued by emphasizing that farmers are responsible for the lives of their consumers, and consumers are responsible for the sustainable livelihood of the farmers.
She also encourages all to consume rice alternatives and various foods under the “Be RICEponsible: A—dlay, mais, saba, atbp. ay ihalo sa kanin; B—rown rice ay kainin; K—anin ay huwag sayangin; D—apat bigas ng Pilipinas ang bilhin, or ABKD campaign.” This way, consumers can help the government by lessening the demand for rice and limiting or eliminating food waste in their households.
In a related event, ATI RTC-10 also recognized exemplary rice-based LSAs being supported by the agency under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) and Rice Tariffication Law.
DJE’s Farm received the award for having the best social media presence among the awardees.
Helen Cabrera Alguso of DJE’s Farm, located at Purok 3, Sto. Niño in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, said that their farm has been a learning site for agriculture since 2018 and is also accredited as a farm school through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in 2019.
“Tanan among ginabuhat nga activities as a farm school, amo gyud ning ginabutang sa social media (All the activities we conduct as a farm school are always posted on social media),” said Alguso.
According to her, by posting and sharing agricultural materials on social media, they can assist farmers effectively. She recognizes the importance of communication and the role it plays in agriculture and farming.
“Sa atong sitwasyon sa Pilipinas karon, kinahanglan gyud nga atong ipadako ang atong ani pero ipaubos nato ang atong mga expenditures sa farm (With our current situation in the Philippines, we need to boost our harvest but lower down our farm expenditures),” said Alguso.
With the government’s aim to increase the country’s rice production, the BeRICEponsible campaign calls on Filipinos to support farmers by patronizing locally produced rice. (SAYU/PIA-10)
