DA-10 spearheads a training for plant nursery operators for accreditation and plant material certification.

 

MALAYBALAY CITY, BUKIDNON – The Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10) conducts a training on Plant Nursery Accreditation and Plant Material Certification with emphasis on Propagation on May 2-3, at the Northern Mindanao Agricultural Crops and Livestock Research Complex in Dalwangan, here.

DA-10 Regulatory Division chief Eduardo N. Pit, PhD said that the activity aims to develop an understanding of regulatory requirements and standards governing plant nurseries and propagation activities.

The capabuild tackled the establishment of plant nurseries for fruits, coffee and cacao, foundation scion groves, and common propagation techniques which provide nursery operators in Northern Mindanao with the latest knowledge and techniques in plant propagation.

Also discussed were the protocols and guidelines on plant nursery accreditation and plant material certification to ensure operators and nurseries comply with the requirements set forth by the DA-Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) for accreditation to produce quality planting materials.

Serving as the resource speakers were from the DA-BPI-National Seed Quality Control Services Senior Agriculturist Rhea Connie C. Villas and Agriculturist II Manilyn Z. Ofiana, and DA-BPI-Plant Quarantine Services Section Head – Seaport of Cagayan de Oro City Kim James F. Sombilon.

Villas said that the training is one of the requirements for accreditation for nursery establishment and operation, including plant material certification in which the issued certificate is valid within two years prior to one’s application.
The nursery must be operational and established for at least a year before applying, and it must create an operating manual specific to the crop the nursery operator is applying for, she added.

Applicants qualified for accreditation and certification must be cooperative, association, corporation, partnership, private individuals, and government agencies.
As part of the training, the participants also visited the Bukidnon Integrated Coffee Center of Nestlé Philippines, Inc. in the same barangay, where they had learned the proper propagation techniques for coffee.#(MPMT)