PARAÑAQUE CITY, Oct. 25 (PIA) -- About 100 Filipino agricultural students and caregivers from Israel joined the “Agribusiness” Webinar hosted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) on 17 October 2020, according to a news release from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
It stated that a brief meeting between Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar and heads of posts from participating Philippine embassies transpired before the start of the webinar. Exchanges on initiatives and programs geared towards the development of Philippine agriculture were discussed with Secretary Dar during the meeting.
The GRANOT Agrostudies Program, also known as the International Center for Agricultural Internship in Israel, is one of the programs of MASHAV, Israel’s agency for international development cooperation, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Israel.
Cooperation in agriculture is a major pillar of Philippine-Israel relations. The program coordinates with about 30 Philippine State Colleges and Universities (SUCs) to bring in Filipino agricultural students to train under Israeli experts and learn the latest techniques in farming. The Philippines joined the program in 2005 and to date, more than 5,000 Filipino students have completed this program.
The program runs for 11 months and includes: a work-program; once-a-week academic lectures; educational outings to model farms; field-trip to an agriculture research and development facility; visit to an international agricultural conference and exhibit; tours of holy and historic sites in Israel; and, as part of the final output of the program, unique research projects that focus on agricultural technologies or methods that students encountered during their training.
“The agristudents OJT program in Israel has produced more than 5,000 Filipino graduates who have been exposed to the most innovative farming techniques in Israel. They can be considered 21st century farmers who can contribute to the progress of the Philippine agriculture sector with the support of the Department of Agriculture in coordination with the Commission on Higher Education,” conveyed by Philippine Ambassador to Israel Neal lmperial to Secretary Dar.
“The Department of Agriculture acknowledges the importance of the young agriculture students who underwent the OJT program in Israel particularly to the precision farming initiatives of the Department,” said Secretary Dar, highlighting the role of new generation farmers.
The webinar provided information on investment opportunities in agriculture, available credit programs for OFWs and young agripreneurs, and training opportunities in various areas of agriculture. (DFA/PIA-NCR)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
0 Comments