by: Lheslie Anne Carreon and Alelee Angelique Joyce Palacpac
In celebration of the launching of the Institute of Crop Science (ICropS), the UP Genetic Researchers and Agricultural Innovators Society (UP GRAINS) conducted a hands-on workshop on Hydroponics yesterday at the Senior Social Garden in the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
The workshop was led by Jose Diego Roxas, a member of UP GRAINS. Roxas talked about the benefits of Hydroponics not only for farmers but also for those who are interested in farming and gardening.
Jose Diego Roxas from UP Grains gives a speech about hydroponics
“Ang main objective nitong workshop ay to tell the people na there is such thing as Hydroponics and that is available na pwedeng gamitin at i-practice kasi Hydroponics is a farming practice na nothing new to farmers but something alien to newbies”, Roxas said.
“The main objective of the workshop is to tell the people that there is such things as Hydroponics that is available which they can use and practice because Hydroponics is a farming practice that is nothing new to farmers but something alien to newbies”, Roxas said.
“Sobrang kaunti ng tao na gustong mag-agriculture so ngayon na naisho-showcase ‘yong Hydroponics, at least nakikita nila na doable and kaya nilang i-adopt on their own”, he added.
“There are only few people who are interested in agriculture so today that Hydroponics was showcased, at least they will see that it is doable and they can adapt this on their own”, he added.
When asked about their takeaways from the workshop, Mercy Macahis, one of the participants, said, “No’ng nakita ko ‘tong announcement about sa workshop, actually hindi ko siya naintindihan, wala akong idea. Pero pagtapos ng workshop, marami talaga akong natutunan since hilig ko talaga ang pagga-garden.”
“When I saw the announcement about this workshop, I actually did not understand it; I have no idea. But after the workshop, I have learned a lot since gardening is really my hobby.”
The Hydroponics workshop was one of the portions of the event organized by ICrops in line with the celebration of their launching. Other activities such as book launching, free food tasting, and dish gardening demo and contest were also conducted earlier this week.