375 farmers graduate from radio university (Sarwell Q.

Meniano/Leyte Samar Daily Express) Saturday, June 1, 2013

TACLOBAN CITY At least 375 farmers graduated from the University-on-the-Air on Rice Postharvest and Mechanization, a strategy of the Department of Agriculture to curb rice production losses.

The graduation rites held at the Leyte Park Gymnasium on Wednesday was joined by graduating farmer students from Leyte, Samar and Eastern Samar.

Class valedictorian Felipe Agero from Tacloban City said that open learning in radio is very convenient for farmers since they can learn something right in their place for free.

We can attend classes while working or lying down and without spending money for transportation. I am hoping to pass all this knowledge on postharvest and mechanization to the younger generation, Agero said.

The agriculture expects that new graduates will be able to reduce postharvest losses by a minimum of 5 percent starting this month.

Graduates are from Babatngon, Burauen, Carigara, Capoocan, Dagami, Jaro, Julita, La Paz, Mayorga, Palo, Sta. Fe, Tabontabon, Tacloban City, Tanauan, and Tunga in Leyte; Lawaan in Eastern Samar; Basey, Marabut, Pinabacdao, Villareal, and Zumarraga in Samar.

Francisco Rosaroso, chief of the departments Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Division (RAFID), said that similar to the classroom teaching method, the students, after listening and taking note of the lectures, answered short quizzes and major examinations administered by the radio program hosts.

We are doing so to determine their level of reception on the concepts and principles gained from the discussions, Rosaroso said.

Municipal and city agriculturists and agricultural technologists served as supervisors of the farmerstudents. To complement the discussions, the students were required to join the educational tour to farms with good practices in the region.

The month-long open learning was aired live in DyVL Aksyon Radyo Tacloban early morning. Same on-air lectures were replayed in DyDW Radio Diwa and DyMP Radyo ng Bayan in the afternoon.

This years topic is in support of the celebration of the 2013 National Year of Rice, which aims to achieve rice-self-sufficiency beginning 2013.

It is an advocacy campaign that aims to promote responsible rice consumption for better health and less rice wastage and productive farming through the promotion of efficient rice technologies and inspiring farmers to do better, Rosaroso said.