The Benguet State University spearheaded a Harvest Festival in Atok and Buguias on July 12 and 22, 2016, respectively, which was participated by the local government units of the 2 municipalities, the farmers and other community members.
The Harvest Festival was conducted to observe the effect of agricultural technologies introduced in the techno-demo farms showcasing the in-field water harvesting tank, structural windbreak, reinforced vegetable terraces and rain shelter. Moreover, the activity was done to compare the BSU introduced production practices in farming to the farmer’s practice particularly on carrots, potatoes and cabbages which are climate change resilient in the said areas.
The harvest festival is part of the lined-up activities of the project titled “Disaster Risk Reduction of Climate Change Impacts on Vegetable Farm Terraces in Benguet” which coincides in observance of the National Disaster Consciousness month. This project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP).
Dr. Carlito Laurean, Vice President of Research and Extension said the project aims to ensure that the farmer’s produce will not be affected badly because of the effect of climate change.
Amado William, 54, one of the farmer co-operators said in his sharing during the harvest festival that farmers are fortunate to feed the world and learning in planting has no end.
Under the project, BSU introduced agricultural technologies to help reduce the impacts of climate change to the Benguet farmers. These technologies were showcased using techno-demo farms allotted by the selected farmer co-operators of the project. The in-field water harvesting tank was constructed to supply water during the drought season. The structural windbreak was designed to control the strong wind that damages the crops. The reinforced vegetable terraces were installed to prevent soil erosion. The rain shelter was constructed to protect the crops from heavy rainfall and too much heat.
There are three components of this project: to assist in empowering communities on disaster risk reduction and climate change impacts, improve resiliency of vegetable terrace farms against adverse impacts of climate change, and capacitate the community on DRR and CCA.
The project is under the Climate Smart Agriculture Center (CSAC) which was established in 2012 to develop, disseminate and utilize climate-smart agriculture technologies for highland communities to cope and adapt to the effect of climate change. **Desiree Bartolo
