Farmers go digital through PLDT, Smart’s eBizNovation program

Farmers in Eastern Visayas are quickly learning how A.I. and social media can boost their livelihoods. Through a training and knowledge exchange session, more than 40 farmers from Eastern Visayas gained new knowledge about these digital essentials, with the assistance of digitally savvy agribusiness students.

​The initiative was made possible through a collaboration between the Department of Agriculture Agricultural Training Institute – Regional Training Center 8 (DA ATI-RTC 8), Visayas State University (VSU), PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), under the PLDT Group’s eBizNovation program.

The session introduced the farmers, who come from various Learning Sites for Agriculture (LSAs) across the region, to essential digital skills such as social media marketing, content creation, and beginner-friendly Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI). This helped them gain technical know-how on promoting their products online.
 
“Thank you to our partners for making this event possible. This is a good avenue for farmers and students to share and leverage their strengths as we work toward helping grow farming businesses, especially in the digital space,” said Concepcion B. Miro, Assistant Center Director of DA ATI-RTC 8.

During the event, agribusiness students from VSU took the opportunity to connect with farmers.

Allan Capa, president of the Society of Agribusiness Students at VSU, was thankful for this meaningful experience. “This activity helped us meet more farmers and learn from each other. They taught us about farming, while we shared our knowledge on digital tools. It helped bridge our gaps and form valuable connections,” he said.

Additionally, PLDT and Smart guided the participants on how to safely navigate the digital world by sharing practical internet safety tips to avoid different types of online scams.

“These are the people who feed our country. This is why we will always be ready to help empower our farmers through training programs that can help them thrive in the digital age,” said Marylou B. Gocotano, Stakeholder Engagement - Visayas Relations Head at PLDT and Smart.

This initiative underscores PLDT and Smart’s efforts to help the country achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth.