HAVING successfully met the requirements, the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Central Luzon led the awarding of Certificate of Accreditation to Dr. Richard Torno, making Torno Agro and Enterprise an official Accredited Plant Nursery.

This is the first accredited plant nursery in Central Luzon for 2022.

Agriculturist Roel Rubion cited the advantages of having this accreditation on Torno Agro and Enterprise.

"It will provide them a variety of sampling materials on cassava, engage in procurements on the process of government and free from pest diseases," he said.

The accreditation of plant nurseries can be seen as a strategy for farmers to educate and help them improve their agricultural productivity to a high-quality one, according to the DA.

The DA said there has been an increase in the number of applicants for nursery accreditation each year since 2004, as a result of the advantages nursery operators observed from those who had already been accredited.

As a form of advertisement, accredited nurseries are posted on the government website thus creating a wide range of market opportunities which results in increased sales. Other advantages such as receiving free training in improving seedling production and occasionally receiving high quality propagation materials (scions and seedlings), subsidies for pesticides and fertilizers and free-soil tests were enjoyed by accredited nurseries. These opportunities encouraged other nursery operators to apply for accreditation.