Information officers (IO) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and attached agencies in Western Visayas trained on social networking sites for the promotion and transparency of the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP).
Dr. Joyce Wendam, DA-6 Regional Technical Director for Planning Research Extension Office, said that the training enabled the participants to better understand and maximize the use of social media in the advocacy promotion and giving the public with necessary updates on PRDP.
The PRDP is a six-year program of DA that is designed to establish an inclusive and market-oriented agri-fishery sector through strategic investments in priority commodity value chains.
She said that appropriate use of social media provides ways to engage and communicate with the agricultural and rural communities and provide them with latest information and resources on PRDP.
Dr. Myrtel Alcazar, Information Officer of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) –West Visayas State University Calinog Campus, said that while their agency is already using social media for information dissemination, the training has given opportunities to explore the other uses of social media to enhance their work.
She also said that learning about infographics (information graphics) is timely and could be used as a new presentation approach to farmers.
Cashmere Gemarino, Information Officer of the National Food Authority (NFA)-6, considered infographic as more effective than any information-education material.
She said that they are fun to make and there are ready-made templates that can be used on the Internet.
Alicia Arnaldo, Administrative Officer III of Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC)-6, said that she was quite hesitant in learning to use social media such as Facebook or Twitter but the training changed her perspective.
She said that social media allows immediate dissemination of important emerging issues and the sharing of positive information among people involved in the agriculture sector. (JCM/LTP/PIA-Iloilo)
