LEYTE | June 29, 2022 – Provincial Officer (PO) of Leyte Eric Castañas helped 19 Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs) design temporary waste disposal and pesticide containers and storage system using a plastic ormini drums during the Training of Trainers (TOT) on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) – Anchored in Corn Production last June 28, 2022, at Baybay, Leyte.

The designing of the container was part of the lecture on the safe and judicious use of pesticides.

PO Castañas first addressed the importance of safety in handling pesticides and why the farmers should be aware of proper labelling and its toxicity levels to avoid accidents such as poisoning.

“Pesticide exposure can be occupational, spray drift, environmental, by accident or intentional. Poisoning can be through dermal exposure, oral ingestion, or respiratory exposure. So I remind all of you to always wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at all times when you are handling pesticides,” he said.

Castanas emphasized on the proper storage and disposal of pesticides as a component of good agricultural practice. Afterwards, he briefly discussed sprayer calibration and demonstrated to the participants how to calculate pesticide rates per hectare. “This is to avoid overdosing or underdosing that may possible pest resistance and contaminants to the environment, he added.

Apart from the discussion on pesticide management, he also shared alternative ways of fertilizing the soil. With the spiking market prices of fertilizers due to the rising prices of fuel, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and the COVID-19 pandemic. PO Castañas promoted the application of the Balanced Fertilization Strategy (BFS).

BFS is a combination of organic and inorganic forms of fertilizer according to the soil and crop requirement. Wastes such as chicken manure and leguminous crops that are readily available on their farms can be used as an alternative to inorganic fertilizers.

The training was organized by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Regional Training Center (RTC) Eastern Visayas. ###