Making farmers’ dream come true through Farm Business School
AGRICULTURE • 20:30 PM Fri Dec 27, 2019
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By:
Agnes Rosete Torino,Agrarian Reform Program Technologist/ Provincial Information Officer - Designate DAR Sarangani
DAR Sarangani officials wintess graduation rites for Farm Business School finishers. (ART)
SARANGANI - For most of the small farmers in Barangay Upo, Maitum, Sarangani, making innovations and improvement in their farming were only a dream since they lack the entrepreneurship and management skills.
To make farmers’ dreams come true, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) offered a breakthrough in this indigenous peoples’ community - the Farm Business School (FBS).
The FBS is designed to equip farmers with the right mindset and skills needed to make their farms more profitable. They will learn how to regard their farming as their own business not just a mere farm.
Thirty-eight farmer-beneficiaries of Upo Valley Farmers Association completed the 25 – session activity facilitated by Ms. Lorna S. Acanto and Ms. Kristine Joy C. Carriedo of DAR Sarangani.
According to Felix C. Frias, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II, the innovative view of FBS program will complement with its technical mechanism.
“In order to make the over-all farm operations profit, the clustering approach in agro-enterprising is the salient mechanism of FBS”.
“The clustering approach groups the farmers according to the kind of crops they produce and synchronized their production and marketing. Instead of individual marketing to traders, the beneficiaries are trained to do collective marketing,” Frias explained.
During the graduation ceremony, John H. Gamad, Chief Agrarian Reform Program Officer of the Program Beneficiaries Development Division, commended the farmer-beneficiaries for their diligence to learn new things.
“With the correct knowledge and wiser farm management, I am sure that you will have more capacity to reach your dreams for yourselves, your family and the community,” Gamad added.
For his part, Association President Kubli M. Kusin thanked the DAR for this kind of support services extended to the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBS). He expressed that it has been his fervent desire that the members of the association mostly T’boli will be educated.
“The paradigm shift entailed in the program enlivens the participants knowing that they will not remain as lowly farmers. Embracing the farmer-entrepreneur role has become our hope in the realization of our dreams,” Kubli concluded. (A. Torino-DAR Sarangani)