THE State of Israel is offering 500 scholarship slots under its “Agro Studies” program to Filipino agriculture trainers and professors who are keen to continue their advanced studies on modernized farming.
“I encourage our trainers and professors to avail of this special training program in Israel,” Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Director General Danilo P. Cruz said. “The knowledge and skills they would gain will not only make them better educators, but will also contribute to the advancement of the Philippine agriculture sector.”
Together with Deputy Directors General Rosanna A. Urdaneta and Aniceto D. Bertiz III, Cruz met with Ambassador Ilan Fluss of Israel, who paid a courtesy call with them last July 28 to discuss further initiatives in strengthening the country’s agriculture industry.
Among these efforts is the agriculture internship program, where qualified scholars will undergo 11 months of studies and training on capacity building through practical and professional knowledge transfer in agriculture.
The program has courses on horticulture, animal science and entrepreneurial initiative, where interns also participate in farming-based research subjects, while empowering them to plan and establish agricultural business enterprises.
From 2006 to 2016 more than 6,000 Filipino students from 27 state universities and colleges attended the program. Last year Tesda entered into an agreement under Agro Studies to send 500 Filipino interns for five years—2021 to 2026—in participation of seven SUCs.
The agency facilitated the training of 401 interns in the 2020-2021 training season; another 400 are now undergoing the current learning period in Israel.
Interns in the Agro Studies program receive an hourly allowance of about $9 to cover living expenses, travel and fees. Participants are also entitled to other work benefits, including overtime pay, annual vacation leave, paid holidays, and sick pay.
Interns learn from Israel’s best practices and innovation. Not only do they gain actual exposure to its agri-tech; they also learn various tools in commercial agriculture.
After finishing the program, they are expected to contribute to the improvement of Tesda’s agricultural curriculum and other training institutions nationwide. Scholars are required to enforce their formulated agriculture business plan under the guidance of their Israeli tutors in line with the new administration’s priority: to turn subsistence farmers to become entrepreneurial as they beef up agricultural productivity and food security.
One of them is Rafael M. Decena Jr., an instructor at Tesda’s Quezon National Agricultural School in Pagbilao, Quezon Province, who has already begun implementing his proposed entity.
Launched last March 28, his “Gatas para kay Juan” project applies farming techniques he learned under Agro Studies. It aims to promote goat-milk production and teach local farmers to engage in sustainable backyard dairy-farming ventures.
Interested applicants for the Tesda-Agro Studies training program may visit and register via https://agro-studies.tesda.gov.ph/.