Leonard Geverola, 18, and his father Ronald Geverola, 41, operate a walking tractor and floating tiller, respectively in a rice field in Matanao Davao del Sur as part of their ongoing TESDA training in Rice Machinery Operations NC II on July 28, 2023.
With their family owning two-wheel and four-wheel tractors, Leonard said he wanted to learn more about proper operations, basic maintenance and occupational safety and health procedures of using rice farm machineries.
For 25 years, his father Ronald have been cultivating rice as the main source of income for the family aside from accepting contracts to plow and to harrow the field of their neighboring fields. This hard work is what inspired Leonard to learn what his father has been doing for long years.
When he was younger, Leonard remembered his father used carabao to till their farm, which took days to finish the laborious task in the open field under the scorching heat of the sun.
But thanks to machines for which Leonard appreciated as they plow, and harrow fields easier and faster. In the lecture, he learned that a well-prepared and well-levelled field can contribute a 5% increase in the yield of the rice due to better water, weed, pest and nutrient managements.
Leonard is just one of the 10 youth together with other 15 seasoned farmers currently enrolled in RMO NC II under the Rice Extension Services Program (RESP) scholarship implemented by RTC-KorPhil Davao until the September harvesting season.