Description
Agriculture and aquaculture are both key drivers to the development of Mindanao. In terms of our country’s key agricultural crops, Mindanao provides the majority of our corn, banana, cacao, coconut, coffee, palm oil, and rubber. It also provides the lion’s share of our fisheries and aquaculture products. Thus, it is imperative for the region to capitalize on its strengths and further develop the industries where they excel by promoting value-enhancement and waste utilization to maximize profits.
The following trainings described may be offered as value-added skills to supplement income or provide additional employment in farms and backyards.
Course Content
1. Mushroom cultivation and processing
The prevalence of agricultural practices in the region means that there is also an abundance of agricultural wastes that can still be utilized to generate income. Several varieties of mushrooms can be suitably cultured in the region using a variety of agricultural wastes such as banana leaves, corn stalks and cobs, rice hull and straw, cacao and coffee processing waste, coconut husks, and other cellulosic materials. Farmers can be taught to supplement their income by growing mushrooms alongside their main crop to ensure their profitability.
| This training is most suitable for |
Farmers with seasonal income, homeowners with a reasonably-sized fee space, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts |
| Prerequisite skills needed |
Little to none; basic arithmetic and measurement, basic reading and writing |
| Prerequisite infrastructure/ equipment/space needed |
Cultivation: open space, access to agricultural wastes, access to water, access to market, shed (optional)
Processing: kitchen equipment, suitable packaging materials |
| Skills to be taught in the training |
Pasteurization, proper culture techniques, proper harvest and storage techniques, product processing, marketing |
| Training style |
Training style Lecture (50%) and hands-on demonstration (50%) |
| Projected course duration |
12 hours |
| Max headcount per class |
30 |
| Course Outcomes |
1. Understand the life cycle of mushrooms, its proper culture conditions, and its main market
2. Understand the process of substrate, spawn, and fruiting bag preparation
3. Identify the mushroom cultivation stage that is most suitable for their conditions (spawn preparation, fruiting bag preparation, marketing, or processing)
4. Demonstrate the ability to design a grow-house along with other useful equipment
5. Compute for process variables that dictate the efficiency of the process
6. Understand proper housekeeping techniques and proper waste disposal
7. Demonstrate critical thinking in deciding what to do with the produced mushrooms
8. Understand the process of making various products with mushrooms
|
2. Aquaponics
Aquaponics is the combination of closed-loop aquaculture and plant rearing in hydroponics. This technology has potential applications in areas where there is a demand for fresh fish but is far from lakes or seas. Aquaponics has the potential to produce fresh fish along with high-value crops such as lettuce, basil, spinach, and other leafy vegetables. With the right knowledge and technology, aquaponics can be done in small spaces such as backyards but can also be done in a large commercial scale.
| This training is most suitable for |
Homeowners with idle land, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts |
| Prerequisite skills needed |
Basic mathematics, basic reading and writing, familiarity with fishkeeping (optional), familiarity with organic farming (optional), construction skills (optional) |
| Prerequisite infrastructure/ equipment/space needed |
open space, access to water source (ground or surface), access to market, access to electricity |
| Skills to be taught in the training |
Fish keeping and handling, vegetable growing, proper feeding and harvesting schedule, designing |
| Training style |
Lecture (30%) and hands-on demonstration or video presentations (70%) |
| Projected course duration |
8 hours |
| Max headcount per class |
30 |
| Course Outcomes |
1. Understand the life cycle of fishes and plants, their basic biology, and their market value
2. Understand the nitrogen cycle and its implications in aquaponics
3. Demonstrate the ability to design and maintain an aquaponics system
4. Apply calculations to predict the productivity and profitability of an aquaponics venture
5. Identify macro and micronutrient deficiency in plants and how to address them
6. Identify fish diseases and how to address them
7. Identify alternative fish feeds and their culture for the reduction of operational costs (commercial feed)
8. Understand proper housekeeping techniques and proper waste disposal
|
3. Aquaculture of ornamental fishes and plants
Fishkeeping is one of the world’s most prevalent hobby, second only to photography. With an ever increasing demand for ornamental fishes and plants, the BFAR has encouraged people to venture into ornamental fish farming both to satisfy local demand and for export as well. Currently, the Philippines lags behind its Southeast Asian neighbors like Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore in the export of tropical freshwater fishes, even though we have the natural resources needed to boost production. Ornamental fish farming has several advantages over farming fishes for food such as higher demanding price and ease of keeping, breeding, and feeding.
| This training is most suitable for |
Entrepreneurs, enthusiast, homeowners with idle land, aquaculture ventures that are marginally profitable |
| Prerequisite skills needed |
Basic mathematics, basic reading and writing, familiarity with fishkeeping (optional), construction skills (optional) |
| Prerequisite infrastructure/ equipment/space needed |
open space, access to water source (ground or surface), access to market, access to electricity |
| Skills to be taught in the training |
Fish keeping and handling, fish breeding, proper feeding and harvesting schedule, designing low-cost tanks, plant propagation and growing |
| Training style |
Lecture (30%) and hands-on demonstration or video presentations (70%) |
| Projected course duration |
8 hours |
| Max headcount per class |
30 |
| Course Outcomes |
1. Understand the life cycle of ornamental fishes and plants, their basic biology, and their market value
2. Understand the nitrogen cycle and its implications
3. Identify the types of fishes and plants that are demanded by the market
4. Understand the proper techniques for breeding and growing different types of fishes and the propagation and growing of different plants
5. Demonstrate the ability to design low-cost tanks and maintain healthy ecosystems within the tanks
6. Apply calculations to predict the productivity and profitability of an aquaculture venture
7. Identify macro and micronutrient deficiency in plants and how to address them
8. Identify fish diseases and how to address them
9. Identify alternative fish feeds and their culture for the reduction of operational costs (commercial feed)
10. Understand proper housekeeping techniques and proper waste disposal
|
4. Insect and worm cultures to transform wastes to animal feed
These processes are the keys to lowering operational costs in an aquaculture/aquaponics or poultry venture. Basically, these are organisms that can be raised from waste materials and then subsequently offered to livestock as a highly nutritious and cheap source of protein. Black soldier fly larva, mealworms, crickets, earthworms, daphnia, and tubifex are all suitable alternative feeds to poultry and fish. They are easily cultured through low-cost set-ups with feed that are of no financial value. They can be marketed as live animal feed, or processed into pellets and sold commercially.
| This training is most suitable for |
Aquaculture and poultry venture owners, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts |
| Prerequisite skills needed |
Basic mathematics, basic reading and writing, construction skills (optional) |
| Prerequisite infrastructure/ equipment/space needed |
open space, access to water source (ground or surface), access to market, access to electricity, access to waste materials (either animal or plant-based wastes) |
| Skills to be taught in the training |
Proper culture techniques of several species of insects and worms, proper harvesting and storage, marketing |
| Training style |
Lecture (70%) and hands-on demonstration or video presentations (30%) |
| Projected course duration |
8 hours |
| Max headcount per class |
30 |
| Course Outcomes |
1. Understand the life cycle of scavenging organisms, their basic biology, and their market value
2. Identify the types of scavenger that can be cultured in a given space or set of conditions
3. Understand the proper techniques for breeding and growing different types of scavengers
4. Demonstrate the ability to design low-cost culture systems
5. Understand the processing of insect/worm feed into dry feed
6. Identify possible marketing venues for the utilization of either live or processed feed
7. Understand proper housekeeping techniques and proper waste disposal |