DUMAGUETE CITY. – The Agricultural Training Institute-VII and the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office-VII in partnership with Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE) – Go Negosyo recently concluded a batch of 47 mentees/graduates of the Kapatid Agri Mentor Me Program (KAMMP) on September 6, 2018 at Plaza Maria Luisa Suites Inn, this city.
The objectives of this activity are to promote agricultural development by providing support services needed for domestic and export-oriented business enterprises and to equip agripreneurs with the proper production techniques, practical knowledge and strategies, mindset and values, and consultation services to foster successful and sustainable agri-enterprises,
KAMMP aimed to help scale up agricultural workers from farmer associations and cooperatives across regions through intensive modules for business and entrepreneurship with the aid of expert agri-business practitioners. Modules on Entrepreneurial Mind Setting and Values Formation, Marketing, Basic Accounting for Non-Accountants, Finance Management, Farm Operations Management, Agri Supply and Value Chain Management, Basic Coop Management, Business Law, and Business Plan Development are delivered by a pool of mentors through partner institutions who are farm-owners and business practitioners with extensive experience. Aside from mentoring, the goal of the program is to engage the mentees with money and market partners from Go Negosyo to ensure success.
The said program started last August 1, 2018 with 47 Mentees from 17 Cooperatives/Associations in the Province of Negros Oriental consists of the Valencia Dairy Cooperative (VADCO), Zamboaguita Small Coconut Farmers MPC (ZASCOFAMCO), Pamplona MPC (PAMPACO), Dauin Coconut Farmers Development MPC (DACOFADEMCO), Bacong Small Coconut Farmers MPC (BASCOFADCO), Sta. Cruz MPC (SCMPC), Ramrod Agricultural MPC (RAMPUCO), Southern Negros Agri-Fisheries MPC (SONAMCO), Cauliflowers Farmers Association, Bagawines Ulay Cabulihan Farmworkers Association (BUCFWA), Mabinay Farmers Scientist Organization (MAFSO), Pandaitan Farmers Association (PFA), Dauin Vegetable Growers Association (DAVEGA), Lumapao-Aquino-Malaiba-Pula Balangon Integrated Growers Association for Sustainable Farming (LAMP-BIGAS), Panaghugpong sa Gagmayng Bayanihang Grupo sa Oriental Negros (PAGBAG-O INC.), Mabunao Proper Farmers Association (MPFA), Kapunungan sa mga Mag-uuma sa Abante (KAMA) participated the 10 modules of the KAMMP.
To complete the program, mentees per organization submitted a business plan as part of the training output. This was presented to the panelists represented by the DA-RFO, ATI7, DTI, LBP and PCE-Go Negosyo.
Meanwhile, special awards like Most Innovative Proposal and Best Business Plan were awarded to PAGBAG-O Inc. while the Best Presenter goes to PAMPACO. Follow through activities like monitoring and evaluation is scheduled to check on mentees application on the knowledge gained from the program.