Leon FITS Center hosts WVSU TG cross-visitors

By Van Kristine Mendoza

Representative

Regional Applied Communications Group

West Visayas State University

The Farmers’ Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center based in Leon, Iloilo recently hosted some 25 representatives of the Techno Gabay (TG) Team from the West Visayas State University (WVSU) at the Leon FITS Center Hall in Poblacion, Leon, Iloilo. The visiting team consisted of managers and staff of WVSU’s member FITS Centers, their Magsasaka Siyentista (MS) and representatives from the WVSU, their partner member agency.

“We may be a new FITS Center but we are working hard to build our image,” Municipal Agriculturist Magdalena Capilastique said in her speech.

For his part, Leon Mayor Rolito Cajilig said that the changing climate and the environmental crises pose threats to the farmers, the town’s major sector. According to Cajilig, Leon is an agricultural highland. Only ten percent of its 14,000 hectares is flat. Farming is Leon’s primary livelihood. Of the 85 barangays, 68 are prone to floods, landslide and calamities. “We have no choice but fight poverty,” Cajilig said. Because the town draws income from farming, Mayor Rolito Cajilig supports efforts related to it.

The local government of Leon has also been promoting Bucari, a forested area 24 kilometers from the poblacion which can serve as an eco- or agri-tourism site. Leon has also been marketing organic vegetables and its “super mangoes.” According Leon FITS Center Manager Feljean Cagape, their produce are called super mangoes because they are much sweeter than any mangoes in Panay.

Leon mangoes are found to have higher fructose content than the Guimaras mangoes. Their sweet taste is attributed to the town’s soil condition and topography. Cagape said that Leon’s soil salinity is much lower than that of Guimaras.

As part of the One Town, One Product (OTOP) program of Leon, mangoes are promoted by local government in their own community. Couples asking to be married by the mayor are asked to bring a mango seedling to the ceremony. All coupled wed by the local government are required to plant the mangoes and cultivate them in their households.

At the end of the welcome program, the cross-visitors were hosted to a vegetable greenhouse located in the municipality.

A DAY IN THE FARM (see above photo). The WVSU Techno Gabay team visits a vegetable farm in their first Cross-Visit to the Leon FITS Center in Leon, Iloilo. As part of the WESVARRDEC culture, study tours such as this serve not only as avenues for information and knowledge sharing but also monitoring mechanism for the consortium.

FITS Dumalag’s new facilities launched

By Isaac Abello

RAC Staff

It's a bigger and better Dumalag FITS Center.

After some nine months of construction and refurbishing of their facilities, the officials and personnel of the Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center based in Dumalag, Capiz led the inauguration and blessing of their new facilities on May 4, 2011 in Poblacion, Dumalag, Capiz.

The new facilities are a two-room dormitory for male and female, a Training Hall that can accommodate 100 persons, and an 8m x 10 m Display Center which houses their bamboo products, vegetable and crops. Now, FITS Dumalag also boasts of the two refurbished offices, namely: the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist and the office of the Municipal Agriculture and Fisheries Council (MAFC).

Backed by Dumalag Mayor Lilia Castro, FITS Manager Ronelyn De Tomas welcomed some 200 guests representing 16 barangays of Dumalag town including farmers, government personnel, 4-H Club members and ordinary townsfolk. FITS Manager Ronelyn De Tomas attributed the achievement to the full support that FITS Center enjoys with a number of agencies and offices.

After De Tomas urged the farmers to patronize and maximize the use of these facilities, she thanked the agencies who helped and provided various types of assistance to FITS Center Dumalag—including PCARRD-DOST, WESVARRDEC, DTI Capiz and the Capiz State University, its partner member agency. De Tomas credited the full support of Vice-Mayor Eriberto Castro, chairman on agriculture Leo Teves and MAFC Chairman Noe Fantilaga and the entire personnel of Department of agriculture detailed in Dumalag.

The efforts and initiative of the center were well lauded by WESVARRDEC Director Joseph Edward Idemne, Provincial Board Member Emile Ardivilla, DTI Capiz Director Ermelinda Pollentes and Techno Gabay Coordinator Anna Mae Relingo, who witnessed the said rites.

According to WESVARRDEC Director Idemne and RTGP Coordinator Relingo, FITS Dumalag ranks top in the FITS centers list, being equipped with a training hall, dormitory and display center. For its big number of activities and involvements in the consortium work in the past two years, the officials recommended the Center for nomination in the Best FITS Center in the Techno Gabay Awards this year.

For his part, Techno Gabay Team Leader Eduardo Navarra of the Capiz State University takes pride in the Center’s full involvement in the engineered bamboo, now considered a promising commodity nationwide. According to Navarra, regional and national PMAs are interested in visiting FITS Dumalag to see and learn firsthand the engineered bamboo technology of its Magsasaka Siyentista Randy Fancubila. Anytime soon, Capiz State University will facilitate said initiatives for the FITS Center.

Other representatives came from the DTI Capiz, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Region VI, Capiz State University and Pioneer Hybrid Seed Company.

BIGGER AND BETTER

The new facilities include (clockwise from left) a display center which houses

their bamboo products, vegetable and crops, dormitory for male and female

and a Training Hall that can accommodate 100 persons.

Antique’s 8th FITS center launched in Hamtic

By Arlene Edna La Vega
RACG Representative
OPA Antique

The long wait is over.

The Farmers’ Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center in Hamtic, Antique was finally launched on June 10, 2009. Becoming the eighth center in the province, FITS Hamtic now belongs with Anini-y, Tobias Fornier, Sibalom, Barbaza, Pandan, Libertad and the Antique Provincial FITS.

Witnessing the launch were guests from Aklan State University (ASU) headed by Regional Techno Gabay Coordinator Anna Mae Relingo; Consortium Director of the Western Visayas Agricultural Resource Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC) Prof. Joseph Idemne and staff; Polytechnic State College of Antique (PSCA) President Victor Navarra and staff, Mr. Nicolasito S. Calawag, provincial agriculturist; Hon. Julius Ll. Pacificador, mayor of Hamtic; and Noel Seguerra, Sangguniang Bayan (SB) member for agriculture.

The event included an opening program, signing of memorandum of agreement (MOA), ribbon-cutting, unveiling of FITS billboard and blessing of the FITS Center—all events witnessed by the farmers from different barangays of Hamtic.

Welcoming the guests and participants, Mayor Julius Pacificador said that the launching of the FITS Center is a great event in Hamtic because it will greatly help the farmers and fisher folks. Pacificador said that together with the Sangguniang Bayan Members they will strongly support the program to make it successful.

Dr. Anna Mae Relingo recognized the efforts of the staff of the Antique Provincial FITS Center and the PSCA as the Partner-Member Agency (PMA) who take the lead in the realization of the FITS establishment in Hamtic.

Municipal Agriculture Officer (MAO) Merla Manabat presented three farmers who are prospect for evaluation as Magsasaka Siyentista (MS) for Hamtic. Herminia Buenabiles was identified for banana chips while Orlando Nolada and Manuel Matandac were singled out for rice and diversified farming.

SB Member Noel Seguerra also said, “The newly launched FITS Center will serve as a venue wherein the farmers, fisher folks and other clients could benefit from the IEC materials that the center provided.”

PSCA President Navarra thanked the Municipality of Hamtic for hosting the FITS Center in Antique. He said that the launching of Hamtic FITS Center is another effort to strengthen linkages & extension programs in the province and the region.

PSF graces Buenavista FITS center launch

by Niño Manaog, RACG Staff
Photo by Bill Gange, RMISG Staff

Work together as a team. This is what PCARRD Executive Director Patricio Faylon urged the major stakeholders at the launch of the 34th Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center of the Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC) on May 27, 2009 at Buenavista, Guimaras.

Addressing Buenavista's local officials, Faylon stressed on the importance of cooperation and “working together” between the local government unit (LGU) of Buenavista and PCARRD.

Faylon also said that the farmers and staff members of the new FITS Center can rely on the assistance of PCARRD to be extended through the WESVARRDEC based at the University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas. The local officials in turn welcomed the presence of the new farmers' infotech center.

The PCARRD Executive Director himself led the signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) and the launching of the FITS Center in Poblacion Buenavista. Both events were hosted by the local government of Buenavista, Guimaras under the leadership of Mayor Samuel Gumarin.