Young farmers chosen for an overseas internship are optimistic they can put to good use the farming techniques after they train in Taiwan in September this year.

Randy Donque, a native of Malaybalay City in Bukidnon, said he wants to help the agriculture sector in his community by being one of the leaders in organizations such as the Head, Heart, Hands and Health (4-H) Club.

“To the young farmers like me, I will train them in some basics of Taiwan’s agriculture so that in the following years, they will also be one of the interns in Taiwan,” he said in an interview Monday.

Donque, 20, also plans to go back to college and continue pursuing his agriculture degree.

Another 20-year-old, Serge Babeda, who lives in Rogongon, Iligan City, said the internship program is an opportunity to expand his farming skills.

“One of my short-term goals when I finish the internship program is to help my family to develop our farmlands, and continue the work that I left there,” he said.

Babeda also wants to impart the knowledge he acquired from the program to his fellow youths and the community.

Donque and Babeda, both belonging to farmer families, were two of the five youths selected for the Filipino Young Farmers Internship Program in Taiwan (FYFIP).

Other chosen interns in the region include Sandy Ver Obsioma, from Barangay Tumpagon of this city; Jan-Erwin Ryoigi Aljo, of Barangay Tablon; and Krizha Mae Valdon-Patrocino from Claveria, Misamis Oriental.

FYIP is a partnership between the Manila Economic and Cultural Office and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines to enhance existing relations through an internship program for qualified young Filipino farmers.

The internship program consists of the acquisition of skills and knowledge through the exchange of modern agricultural and fisheries techniques, marketing strategies, and mechanisms, cooperative management, and enhancement of competencies, discipline, and values.

The Agricultural Training Institute – 10 has helped with the search for qualified applicants through information dissemination and screening. (PNA)