MANILA, Philippines -- Starting Saturday, November 5, the Agri-Kapihan which has become a virtual institution as a free forum for farming enthusiasts, will now be held every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. The venue is the AANI Weekend Market at the St. Vincent Seminary along Tandang Sora in Quezon City. The place has a big free parking area.

In the past few years, the Agri-Kapihan was held only once a month, on the last Sunday of the month, at the courtyard of radio station DWWW.

Today’s session will feature an expert from the Bureau of Plant Industry who will talk on the potentials of organic farming. Before the main speakers, we will share our latest observations during our visits to different parts of the country as well as abroad.

The other main speaker in today’s session is Dr. Rey Itchon who will talk on raising free-range chickens using the white broiler chicks instead of the colored ones. He has done experiments in raising the white chicks as free-range birds and he has been successful in producing naturally-farmed chickens using herbal extracts in their feeds and drinking water to protect them from pests and diseases. He has also found that the free-range chickens love to eat azolla which is very easy to grow in a pool or fishpond. This could make raising free-range chickens more economical.

The Agri-Kapihan is open free to the public. It was started by yours truly some 26 years ago as a venue for transferring new technology and meeting people interested in agriculture. The Department of Agriculture through Sec. Proceso J. Alcala is collaborating with the Agri-Kapihan so that the different programs of the government in agriculture will be disseminated to the farming public on a sustained basis.This Saturday, the BPI will be distributing free seeds to the attendees.

Horticulture 2012 – The officers and members of the Philippine Horticulture Society headed by Dr. Romeo Gutierrez are busy preparing for their annual garden show, Horticulture 2012, which will be held from January 26 to February 6, 2012 at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City. Aside from the landscape exhibits and commercial booths, a daily seminar on various horticultural topics will be conducted. In one of the sessions we have been invited to talk on what’s new in exotic fruit trees.

Atomic Energy Week – The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute will celebrate the 39th Atomic Energy Week on December 5 to 9 this year at the PNRI compound in Diliman, Qeuzon City. The observance aims to create awareness of the people on the beneficial uses of nuclear science and technology in food and agriculture, health and medicine, industry, energy, and the environment.

A technical session on the Challenges of Nuclear Energy will be held on December 6 while Opportunities in Nuclear Energy will be on December 7. The PNRI is headed by Dr. Alumanda M. de la Rosa.