At ATI Reg Farm Family Forum... 

Best Farm Tourism Lay-out, 

Indigenous plaque for Bohol 

TAGBILARAN CITY, April 21 (PIA)--Bohol delegates to the Agricultural Training Institute's (ATI) 28th Regional Farm Family Congress and 4H Youth Encampment made their presence known as they came home with two major Regional Championship Awards and two runner-ups for 4 4H Mayor Categories as Bohol delegations heads see this as excellent accomplishment for the year. 

At the 28th Regional Farm Family Congress and 4H Youth Encampment held April 18-20 at the Cebu Business Hotel, ATI gathered farmers, fishers and their associations as well as rural-based organizations including the institutionalized Rural Improvement Clubs (RICs) and Head, Heart Hands and Health (4H Club) in the region for three days of agricultural inputs, fellowships and contests. 

Established as an extension work of the Department of Agriculture's ATI, the Congress is a way of government support to the ATI mandate on the “provision of training, information, and support services to agriculture and fisheries sectors to improve the technical, business, and social capabilities of farmers and fisher folk.” 

Inputs include Aflatoxin Awareness, Basic Food Safety, Farm Tourism Act. 

The event is a follow-on and a reiteration that we believe rural-based organizations play very critical roles in the empowerment, poverty alleviation and advancement of farmers and the rural communities, by strengthening the farmer's presence to significantly influence policy makers and the community in general, according to the ATI. 

With these people learning and gaining more skills from their co-sector workers, getting new knowledge and technologies, engaging into economic ventures and marketing and promotions also increase their chances of income, agriculturist Helen Igot explained. 

The government and its extension workers, farm technicians network with farmers, fishermen and other rural underprivileged individuals to gather data needed to craft initiatives to make them produce, add more value to their products, sell commodities and develop effective linkages with input agencies like financial service providers, as well as markets. 

Forum contests include 4 major 4H skills in Edible Dish Gardening, Oyster Mushroom Food Processing and Packaging, Innovative Farm Tourism Lay-out Making and Indigenous Plaque Making, while the 4 4H minor categories inlcude Quiz Bee, Agri-tourism Video making, Extemporaneous Speech and Singing. 

Bohol delegates: young farmers, members of 4H Clubs and RICs, fisherfolks and potential farmers brought home major awards by excelling in this year's newest contest categories. 

A Cortes 4HClub contestant did an integrated organic tourism farm layout from a one hectare lot, providing smart climate change adaptation innovations and farm technologies. 

His layout include contour farming, multiple cropping, integrated pest management, drip irrigation systems, aquaculture, livestock and CHARITY poultry including a FAITH Bahay Kubo vegetable patch with HOPE herbal and organic plants, solar powered main-house and windmill powered water pumps for its drip irrigation to win the judges thumbs up for the 4H Innovative Farm Tourism Lay-out. 

A young weaver from the basket weaving experts of Quinapon-an Antequera RIC also did a woven bamboo amakan backed plaque holder with nito, buntal and bamboo frame, as the judges gave her work the regional award for 4H Indigenous Plaque Making. 

Other winners in the 4H Club Major category includes a second place for Edible Dish Gardening with Manga National High School's Mark Vincent Arabejo and Floreven Jay Gambe's Chocolate coated Oyster Mushroom got second for 4H Value Added Food processing and Packaging. 

Other Bohol winners for the 4H minor categories include second place for Vocal Solo with DCPNHS Jescel Marie Salas and Lindsey Marie Doblas, second for Agri-Tourism Video making. 

For the RIC categories, Maria Nenita Podador also came home with the third prize for RIC Fruit Vegetable Carving contest and another delegate won for Best Healthy Welcome Drink and Beverage. 

In the Fisherfolk Category, Apolonio Manatad got second for the Best Tilapia Recipe. 

Bohol brought no delegates for the Farmer Category for Innovative Tourism Lay-out and Jingle making. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol) 

WINNERS GALLERY. Bohol delegation won big in the recent 28th Farm Family Forum and 4H Youth Encampment held at the Cebu Business Hotel, April 18-20, 2018. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol/contributed foto)