OFWs in Taiwan to receive agri training

TAIPEI — More than 100 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) based in Taiwan will be included in the internship program that will provide them with extensive training on modern and effective methods of rice and vegetable farming, as well as other agricultural products.

This was after the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and AgriGaia Social Enterprise signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will allow qualified Filipino workers currently in Taiwan to attend the agricultural training in Kaohsiung.

This opportunity is available to OFWs during their free time or days off or to those whose work contracts have already expired and who are set to return to the Philippines.

In addition to the slots allocated to OFWs in Taiwan, the MOU also includes another batch of training programs for agricultural students from the Philippines, particularly those from agricultural provinces like Benguet and Masbate.

"With this new technology that they have learned and been trained in, they can now apply it and transfer the technology to our country," said MECO Chairman Silvestre Bello III.

According to the MOU, the aim is to continue and expand the training for Filipino farmers in AgriGaia Farm, making them proficient in modern and effective methods of rice and vegetable farming, as well as other agricultural products.

Despite Taiwan's smaller size compared to Luzon, it has significantly higher rice production and yield than Filipino farmers.

"In the Philippines, when you talk about rice production, the maximum is eighty to one hundred cavans per hectare. Here, they can achieve 280 cavans per hectare, so we should acquire their technology on how they can increase their rice production," Bello said.

At least 40 Filipino agricultural students have successfully completed their internship program in Kaohsiung and have returned to the Philippines.

However, one issue is that these farmers have learned modern farming methods but do not have land to cultivate.

Bello said he is planning to  bring this matter to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

"I'm going to write to our President that our government should provide at least five hectares of agricultural land to these forty-nine graduates," he said.

Illegal recruitment scheme

As opportunities for Filipinos in Taiwan increase, MECO warned Filipinos about the so-called third country illegal recruitment scam. Over the past years, over 100 Filipinos have fallen victim to this scheme.

The modus operandi involves enticing a Filipino worker in Taiwan to work in Eastern European countries like the Czech Republic, where the promised salary is double or sometimes even triple compared to Taiwan.

The illegal recruiters then charge the worker a placement fee ranging from P100,000 to P300,000, claiming that the worker can directly proceed to Europe without going through the process of the Department of Migrant Workers in the Philippines.

Unfortunately, upon arrival in Europe, there are either no jobs waiting or the working conditions and treatment are not desirable for the workers.

"Taiwan is just one of the many destinations, there are many others in other countries with the same illegal recruiters," Bello told Philippine media delegation visiting  Kaohsiung

MECO said it is coordinating with officials from Eastern European countries to apprehend those behind the recruitment scam. —KBK, GMA Integrated News