21 Agri-extensionists participate to 5-day AI training

Local agricultural extension workers from 20 municipalities in the province gathered in the 5-day swine Artificial Insemination (AI) training organized and funded by Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) held at Farmer’s Training Center and CMU Swine Semen Processing & Artificial Insemination Laboratory (CMU-SSPAIL) on August 13-17.

This 5-day training was facilitated by CMU’s technical experts on artificial insemination through Dr. Winson M. Gutierrez, CMU-SSPAIL – Project Head; Prof.  Eduardo Lagua and Dr.  Emmanuel T. Baltazar, Extension Director.

According to Ms.  Aleli Jean Paulican, ATI’s Technical Support Staff, artificial insemination is a breeding method used to avoid inbreeding which causes poor growth and prone to transfer of diseases.

Paulican stressed the importance of AI as a breeding tool in the swine industry. She added: “This training was conducted to equip local agricultural extension workers with different skills and techniques in Artificial Insemination and enable them to help backyard hog raisers in their respective locality on their production.”

The training was divided into three modules: Module 1 tackled about the Introduction to Artificial Insemination; Module 2 was on Reproduction and Management; and Module 3 was on Semen, Semen Processing, and Insemination.

Moreover, participants expressed their appreciations to the resource speakers and to ATI for initiating the event.

In a phone interview, Ms. Ivy Meliston, one of the participants during the 5-day training said that all the topics are vital in her work as livestock focal person of Malaybalay City Veterinary Office. She shared that through the training she was able to know about boar management, semen collection, semen evaluation and semen extension.

“Because of that training I know the essentials in the laboratory specifically semen processing and extension and the proper execution of AI during AI session in the field,” she added.

 Further, Dr. Winson M. Gutierrez said that one of the objectives of the establishment of the CMU-SSPAIL is to train small hold hog raisers as AI technician in their own locality and supply backyard raisers with affordable but quality semen to boost the farmers level of production.

“Aside from producing quality but affordable extended boar semen for sows we also provide an avenue for relevant researches along with swine semen quality, processing, and AI to farmers, extensionists and students,” Dr. Gutierrez added.

The upgrading of the CMU-SSPAIL is a CHED funded project under the Priority Growth Areas for Agriculture in Region X.

As of this time, CMU-SSPAIL is still unable to perform semen processing due to a low voltage of electric current available in the project site. However, the Project-In-Charge requested for the possibility of tapping the electric line once the transformer will be installed for the Livestock Project. (IA Dalipe-Neri)