GLOBAL agricultural company Corteva Agriscience has launched on Tuesday a rice and corn educational farm or “edufarm” in Nueva Ecija that it aims to help the country achieve food security and self-sufficiency.
“Through the edufarm project, we are sharing our knowledge of agricultural best practices and products in order to raise crop productivity and improve farmer income,” Arun Mittal, the country head of Corteva, said during the event.
Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William D. Dar, along with Mr. Mittal, led the inauguration of the edufarm project in the municipality of Talavera.
The project aims to build training centers wherein season-long field and in-classroom trainings will be conducted. The training is geared towards helping farmers in increasing the sustainability, productivity, and profitability of their crops.
Farmers will be shown techniques to improve yield and income such as direct seeding hybrid rice technology and weed control. The company will also teach farmers on new seed preparation and crop protection techniques.
“We at the DA, welcome this initiative by Corteva as it supports and complements government efforts to produce our national rice requirements,” Mr. Dar said.
Corteva seeks to establish 50 rice edufarms and 30 corn edufarms in low and medium rice producing areas.
Together with planned activities for farmers, Corteva also plans to launch a new corn edufarm in Isabela by March of this year.
The edufarm is a result of a memorandum of understanding between the DA and Corteva. It was signed in October 2019. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
