In its continued efforts to boost the livelihoods and revenues of local cacao growers, the Department of Agriculture recently launched the School-on-the-Air (SOA) program on cacao in La Trinidad, Benguet.

This program by the DA Cordillera (CAR), in partnership with the Benguet Provincial Agriculture Office, is aimed at improving cacao production through innovative distance-learning methods.

It is scheduled to air on DZWT 540 AM MPBC and will broadcast from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting 23 July.

It targets 124 farmer-enrollees from nine cacao-producing municipalities in Benguet, including Baguio City.

For three months, the curriculum will cover comprehensive topics such as the fundamentals of cacao cultivation, pre-production management, pests and disease control, harvest techniques, post-harvest handling, marketing strategies for processed cacao, and practical on-site training, DA-CAR said.

"School-on-the-Air offers a broader reach compared to traditional training methods, ensuring more farmers can benefit,” Joan Bacbac, Special Technical Advisor to the Regional Executive Director, said.