The Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) harnesses the power of the internet and the radio to provide alternative learning opportunities to the public, as the community quarantine continues, by launching skills development activities online and on air.
With the boom in information and communications technology (ICT) in today’s “new normal”, ATI training centers nationwide have modified the delivery of learning and development activities through the use of online tools and broadcast media. This effort is in response to the restrictions in conducting face-to-face training and towards increasing knowledge on agriculture to support the Department of Agriculture’s thrust on food security.
On April 21, ATI Central Luzon launched “AHON sa Nayon” or “Advancing Households' Opportunities to Nutritious Food Production sa Nayon: #GoVeg20 Webinar Series” to continue providing relevant and timely information to stakeholders in the region. Topics include food production at home and farming as an income-generating venture.
The ATI Regional Training Center (RTC) in CALABARZON also initiated the webinar “Agricultural Technologies thru Internet at Home” or “ATI@Home” in support to the DA’s initiatives on urban agriculture. The first live seminar rolled out on April 8 focusing on container gardening, followed by home composting and plant food supplements, homemade insect spray, and pest management on April 17 and 27. An open forum was also held to answer questions from the registered online viewers.
The webinar is hosted via a closed Facebook group and interested individuals would need to fill out an online registration form before they can join. At present, the group has enlisted more than 850 members. Future topics are on hydroponics and mushroom culture.
Meanwhile, ATI Bicol has set up a Facebook webinar channel called “ATI Bicol Sarabay” to provide online tutorials on the production of crops and broadcasts about programs and services towards food security. Some topics discussed were on container gardening, hydroponics, and aquaponics. Since its launch in April, the channel has generated as high as 8,000 views.
ATI Central Visayas has, likewise, created a Facebook group to host their first webinar on May 4 titled “Food Always in the Home” or FAITH Gardening Technology. On April 24, ATI Northern Mindanao also launched a webinar series on their official Facebook page, dubbed as “AgriStoryahay sa ATI Webinar Series on Urban Gardening”, where owners of ATI Learning Sites for Agriculture share tips on basics of urban gardening, planting and transplanting, preparation and application of biofertilizers and biopesticides, and composting.
In Soccsksargen, ATIng Free Online Seminar was launched on Facebook on April 27. Topics featured so far are on container gardening and healthy and budget-friendly recipes. Aside from this, the ATI RTC started “ATIng Talakayan Online!” to answer questions on farming from their social media followers.
The ATI-International Training Center on Pig Husbandry (ITCPH), on the other hand, will also offer blended courses until December 2020. For this month, training activities will focus on Basic Course on Pig Husbandry (May 11-15); Course on Swine Artificial Insemination (May 18-20); and National Trainor's Course on Swine Artificial Insemination (May 25-27). Interested individuals may now register via https://bit.ly/3aTW8Jx.
Meanwhile, to cater to audiences who have no access to the internet, the ATI network is expected to launch school- on-the-air programs. Radio-based training courses from ATI and partner stations will start airing in 15 regions this July. The ATI-ITCPH will also hold "PIG-aralan Serye" every Friday, starting May 15 to December 4, over the local radio station DWAL 95.9 Radyo Totoo sa Batangas to help local pig farmers increase productivity while on community quarantine.
Other activities being conducted by the ATI network are the distribution of urban agriculture starter kits, comprised of seeds and IEC materials, and the administration and promotion of free e-Learning courses through www.e-extension.gov.ph/elearning. For more details on the online seminars and to see latest updates from the regions, follow the ATI’s Facebook page (@atiinteractive) or text the Farmers’ Contact Center at 0920-9462464. (ATI Information Services Division)
#ati #agriculture #lifestyle
 Seminars, Training Programs Go Online, On Air){kind=link}