|
SAMAL, Bataan: The Central Luzon State University and the local
government of Samal town on Tuesday launched the Farmers’
Information and Technology Services (FITS) center that aims to
provide the agricultural sector access to information technology.
Nora Medina, Samal municipal agriculturist, said
the Samal center becomes the seventh FITS unit in Bataan after the
Office of the Provincial Agriculturist under Imelda Inieto, of the
Balanga City and the towns of Orani, Limay, Hermosa and Dinalupihan.
Mayor Rolando Tigas of Samal and Gov. Enrique
Garcia of Bataan said the establishment of the center in the town
would benefit a large number of people connected to fishing and
farming from 14 barangays.
Medina said the center would be of much help to
the agricultural town. “Samal has a vast number of traders and
entrepreneurs, farmers and fishermen who need commercially viable
and useful technologies to compete with the fast-changing world of
economy,” she said.
Samal has a total irrigated land area of 1,271
hectares and 87 hectares of rain-fed, all planted to rice tilled by
975 farmers. This is aside from areas in four barangays with
off-season vegetable production planted to watermelon, ampalaya,
tomatoes, eggplant and sili labuyo.
Medina is assisted by agricultural technologists
Arceli Guinto, Genezareth Macahilig, Efren Villa and Lydia Banal,
livestock inspector Silvestre Nacino, coop specialist Nancy Vianzon
and clerk Wenifreda Miranda.
Medina said the center is under the Techno Gabay
Program, which has four sectors namely: FITS or Techno Pinoy Center,
the Farmers Scientist Bureau, or Magsasaka Siyentista, the
Information, Education and Communication and the Information and
Communication Technology.
The first FITS center was established 10 years
ago and counts to more than 200 nationwide. Through the center,
farmers, fishermen and entrepreneurs will have access to information
and technologies.
-- Ernie B. Esconde
|
