Aiming to capacitate the members of the peanut farmer organizations that received enterprises, the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) in Region 1 conducted a Peanut Seed Production and Certification Training at the Agricultural Training Institute in Batac City, Ilocos Norte on August 8-10, 2018.

The members of the Conconig East Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MPC) from Sta. Lucia, Ilocos Sur and the Municipal Federation of Rural Improvement Club of Sto. Domingo from Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur participated in the accreditation training.

The Conconig East Farmers MPC received a four-wheel tractor with complete accessories, two (2) units of three-wheel cargo motorcycle (tricab), and weighing scale on November 24, 2017. These are components of the Integrated Quality Peanut Seed Production and Farm Service Enterprise worth Php2.3 million (including the proponent’s 20% equity).  The Cooperative is only waiting for the award of 360 bags of Ilocos red peanut seeds worth Php560,000.

The Municipal Federation of Rural Improvement Club of Sto. Domingo also received two (2) units of hand tractors and two (2) units of water pump on January 22, 2018. The machineries are proposed under the Production of Seed Planting Materials for Peanut and Farm Equipment/Implements Services with a total investment cost of Php 1, 080,070.

With the training, the quality of peanut seeds produced in Sta. Lucia and Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur is expected to improve. Both farmer organizations aim to become accredited producers of certified peanut seeds to be able to supply production inputs to other peanut farmers.

During the accreditation training, the participants received lectures on the Mechanics, Policies and Guidelines on Seed Certification; Field Inspection and Rouging; Seed Sampling, Sample Preparation and Tagging; Varietal Selection, Varietal Maintenance and Seed Storage; Cultural Management Practices; and Process Flow of Good Agricultural Practices.

The participants also had a hands-on workshop on seed testing procedure supervised by Ms. Editha Gamet from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI). The BPI is responsible for the issuance of accreditation certificates to farmer groups. (Dessa U. Estrada, RPCO 1 InfoACE)