FSTP Graduates Sees Brighter Future in Farming

He could have landed a call center job in the city and enjoy the buzzing life of the metropolis along with the boundless recreation it can offer. For Luther Gem Martel, farming proves to be more interesting and rewarding.

“There’s more to life in farming than working in the city. And I’m going to prove that farming can give me a much brighter future,” Martel said in Cebuano.

Martel, a resident of Barangay Pung-tod, was among the 93 farmers from the 13 villages of Oslob town, southern Cebu who finished the farmer-scientist training program (FSTP) of the Cebu provincial government recently.

FSTP, which primarily centers on a corn-based production system, aims to give small farmers direct training contact with agricultural experts and scientists to develop their technical skills and scientific capabilities to grow crops utilizing appropriate farming technologies.

Of the total number, 22 of which finished the phase III of the four-month program with Martel as one of them.

Though he admitted the difficulty for a farmer to have a bigger yield at the start, Martel believed that hard work and perseverance would eventually pay off.

“Perseverance and hard work are necessary in this tough job. You just don’t stop learning. You just need to have commitment to go to your farm and do what you love most if you want to succeed,” he said.

The 28-year-old Martel, who is a second-year computer technology student, also sees farming not only as a stable source of income but also a guarantee that the family has something to eat.

“Compared to other industries they must depend heavily on the profit from their products. For the farmers, if their crops are not sold, they can use them to feed their families,” he said.

FSTP also seeks to strengthen the teaching, research and extension capabilities of the local government units and state colleges and universities so they can render better services in their areas of responsibility.

Provincial Agriculturist Roldan Saragena urged the new graduates to share the technical skills they learned from the FSTP.

“Let us show to the community that as model farmers we can make a difference. Most of all, do not hesitate to teach others the proper ways of farming,” Saragena said.

Saragena also encouraged farmers to visit the municipal or the provincial agriculture office to avail of the Capitol’s food security programs.

Meanwhile, the 38 farmers who completed the phase 1 course each received a plastic drum which they could use to store water for the dry season.

Also, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 7 and the province handed out 68 sets of fishing gears comprised of nets, longlines and hooks.

The graduation ceremony was witnessed by Oslob officials, BFAR 7, representatives from the Cebu Technological University-Argao Campus and University of the Philippines-Los Banos.