Philippines proposes internship program on smart farming

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has proposed a five-year internship program to equip young Filipino farmers with smart farming technologies.

The proposed program aims to develop deserving young Filipino farmers to become smart farming leaders and empowered agricultural entrepreneurs and innovators through knowledge-exchange with Korean farmers and experts. It involves a season-long internship program in smart greenhouses and smart open farms in South Korea.

DA Undersecretary for policy, planning, and regulations Mercedita Sombilla said the program should be able to showcase smart farming as a venture that the youth can really earn money from.

Last month, officers and experts from the Korea Agency of Education, Promotion, and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (EPIS) and the Korea Rural Community Corp. (KRC) met with DA and ATI officials for a pre-feasibility study of the program.

A follow-up mission will be held to finalize the scope and financial analysis of the proposed program.

The Korean pre-feasibility study team recommended the inclusion of young Filipinos who do not have a background on agriculture, such as those who graduated from information technology courses, as eligible applicants for the program.

This is to encourage more youth to go into farming.

Under the five-year program, 15 youth participants nationwide will be selected per year. These interns will undergo one-month local training and immersion in Korea-funded smart greenhouses, or smart open farms,

in the country prior to a six-month internship in Korea.

The interns are then expected to apply their knowledge through a year of hands-on practice in local smart greenhouses or open farms after their internship in Korea.

As part of the program, a smart greenhouse will be established in the country that will add to the existing four smart greenhouses funded by the South Korean government.

An open farm will also be developed for the youth interns’ application of their knowledge of smart farming technologies.

The site for the greenhouse facility, as well as the priority commodities to be produced in both the smart greenhouse and the open farm, will be identified and recommended by the DA and the ATI.