LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Eight more young farmers from this province left for Japan for a three-year Young Farmers Exchange Program (YFEP). 

Office of the Provincial Agriculture Supervising Agriculturist Delinia Juan said the eight technical intern-trainees will undergo the three-year hands-on and comprehensive on-the-farm training at the Farmers Cooperative of Ehime Prefecture and in Kochi Prefecture, Japan.

The eight trainees are Rufino Budoyan Jr. of Bokod; Francis Galuten and Gentar Manicawa, both of Mankayan; Rico Wakat of Sablan; Hardy Bua-eg of Buguias; Vincent Comila of Bakun; Arman Carias of Kapangan; and Febie Ann Mayamnes of Kibungan.

The latest batch brings to 95 the number of technical intern-trainees who availed of the program this year.

YFEP was conceived to provide training opportunities for young men and women engaged in agriculture to help improve Benguet’s agriculture through exchanges in technology and farming methods.

Juan said the program encourages the entry of young farmers into agriculture by helping them acquire new agriculture techniques, experience life in a foreign country, and strengthen their foreign language skills.

When they return home, the trainees are expected to bring a new level of expertise that will assist them in their work and share with their fellow farmers in the province.

The program also aims to foster exchanges with young farmers’ organizations in the host country.

A memorandum of agreement between the provincial government of Benguet and  the  Kuroshio Agricultural Development Cooperative and Kochi Tobu Agricultural Development Cooperative was signed by the parties for the technical internship training program in Kochi and in Ehime Prefecture.

The province also signed a MOA with the Japan Agricultural Exchange Council for a project called “Safe vegetable production and marketing project with soil resource and conservation,” which is one of the components of YFEP.