Hoping to inspire more young people to venture into agriculture, the Aggie Ps Talk 5.0: AgriCOOLture Youth Champions was successfully launched last 1 June by the UPLB College of Agriculture and Food Science (CAFS). Serving as guest speakers for the kick-off episode were Mr. Arturo Tolentino and Mr. Elvin Jerome Laceda. 

Mr. Tolentino or “Turo” is a Sustainable Livelihood Manager at Ayala Foundation and Co-founder of the Artfarm Sustainable Solutions. Through his talk titled, “Magsaka Ka!: Organic Agriculture for Sustainable Livelihood and Food Security,” Turo shared his experience in organic farming and encouraged the viewers to try it. He narrated his story on how he started farming, from growing lettuce through SNAP hydroponics, to attending multiple trainings on organic agriculture, and to establishing his farm. He motivated the participants to engage in various farming activities to deeply appreciate the value of the industry in food production. 

The second part of the episode featured Mr. Laceda, CEO and Founder of RiceUp and board member of the United Nations Youth Advisory Board. Mr. Laceda’s passion to develop the state of agriculture and agriculturists in the country overflows through his discussion titled, “Finding your Why in AgriPreneurship: Young Filipinos Power in Creating a Prosperous Philippines.” Aside from explaining the advocacy of RiceUp to help rice farmers in the country, he also emphasized that engaging in agriculture does not require one to be a graduate of any agriculture-related degree. Instead, he said that the needs of the sector are multidisciplinary, mentioning digital innovation, marketing, accountancy, to name a few disciplines. 

Present in the opening of the season was CAFS Dean Elpidio M. Agbisit, Jr. who gave the opening remarks. He emphasized the role of both agriculture and the youth to the country’s nation building. “With youth leading and forerunning this sector, I believe [the] agriculture industry is in good hands [and] definitely, will flourish with new ideas and innovations coming in,” he said.

Also gracing the event was UPLB Chancellor Jose V. Camacho Jr. (CJCJ) to deliver an inspiring welcome message. CJCJ said that the webinar is relevant, especially due to the over-a-year-long community quarantine in the country where the importance of agriculture has been emphasized. He hopes that the industry, through the College and its activities, as well as the champions of agriculture, will soon be resilient and future-proofed. 

The first episode of the fifth season of the Aggie Ps Talk was attended by more than 400 individuals. To make it more participative, the organizers prepared a menti exercise to gauge the interests of the participants as well as their reactions to the event. A time capsule challenge was also set by posting a selfie or a status with the hashtag #FutureofAgriCOOLture.

This is the fifth season of the CAFS webinar series, Rebooting Agriculture in the New Normal: Webfresher Courses. 

Watch the episode through CAFS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpdTN807hUE

By Alyssa Kaye S. Mojar