First climate school to open in Iloilo
Iloilo will hold the rare distinction of being the first province in the Philippines to conduct classes for farmers in the management of climate for higher production of crops.
Dr. Ildefonso Toledo, acting provincial agriculturist, in an interview, said the first ever climate field school for farmers will be established in Dumangas.
The field school will be held in conjunction with the Asia Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) based in Bangkok, Thailand, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Service Administration (PAGASA), the municipality of Dumangas and the province of Iloilo, Toledo said.
Four personnel from the Agriculture Office and six from Dumangas, who will be trained as trainors on June 18,will form the nucleus in the training of farmers.
Dumangas has been chosen as the school site because of the presence of the Agrometeorological Station, a facility that forecasts weather conditions to the adjacent municipalities.
The classes, to start first week of July, will be held every Saturday for 12 to 16 weeks, or the equivalent of one cropping season.
Toledo, the first provincial agriculturist in the Philippines, prepared the curriculum for the climate field school.
He said the main objective of the school is to teach farmers the all important role of the weather or climate in the preparation of their fields, selection of the proper rice seeds and the kind of cash crops that they can plant.
"The school will teach farmers not only to mitigate the weather or climate but more importantly, to manage the climate for proper and higher crop production," Toledo added.
Thailand is the only country in the world that conducts climate field school for farmers. The Philippines will be the second.
(PNA)