The Philippine Department of Agriculture held a send-off ceremony at the Agricultural Training Institute on Tuesday for 50 young farmers who will begin an 11-month internship in Taiwan under the Taiwan-Philippines Agricultural Internship Program.

]The program was launched in 2021 and has already sent five batches of young Filipino farmers to various farms across Taiwan, CNA reported. This group is the sixth batch, which departs for Taiwan on May 19. The interns are expected to return home and spark innovation in the Philippines’ agriculture industry.

Yang Teng-shih (楊登仕), deputy Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines, said the two countries share similar agricultural conditions, including climate, topography, and a hardworking farming culture, making Taiwan an ideal training ground for Filipino interns.

Yang encouraged the young farmers to become "seeds of change," spreading the knowledge they gained to fellow farmers back home and serving as a bridge between the next generation of farmers in both countries.

ATI Director Remelyn Recoter urged the interns to learn advanced agricultural technology, entrepreneurial strategies, and leadership skills while in Taiwan, so they can return and bring innovation to the Philippine agricultural sector and improve farmers' livelihoods.

To support the practical application of their training, the ATI offers each returning intern a startup fund of PHP 50,000 (NT$27,000). Those whose agribusiness proposals rank in the top three will receive an additional PHP 150,000 in funding.

Taiwan News - Kevin Chen

13 May 2025

Philippines sends farmers to Taiwan for agricultural internship