Glenn Villaroman, a consultant of the Department of Agriculture, shares the concept of Agribusiness Incubation during the consultative meeting. (photo by Jeremy Nogra)
DILIMAN, Quezon City—In line with the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) goal to create a culture of agribusiness among the youth, key officials of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) and its network of training centers sat down for a National Consultation Meeting on the Youth Agripreneurship Program and Young Farmers Program.
During the activity, the group discussed plans and strategies in the implementation of the Institute’s training programs for the youth this year.
Some ATI center directors, together with their respective youth program coordinators, comprised the core group. They agreed on some implementation mechanisms such as crafting guidelines, project design, and ladderized training systems for the youth programs. They also came up with specific projects and activities that will support the young farmers in doing business in agriculture, while promoting and strengthening youth participation in the sector.
These include, among others, the conduct of diversified and value chain approach training programs, involvement in DA’s Agribusiness Incubation (ABI) projects, collaborative activities with Go Negosyo, as well as localized consultations in cities and municipalities in the different regions.
Other discussions were on Business Immersion of Successful Agripreneurs/Agri-industrial Firms, as presented by Jas Nito of Go Negosyo, and the ABI approach by DA consultant Glenn Villaroman. Emmalyn Guinto of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council also talked about their credit programs for the youth.
Likewise, the implementation of “Binhi ng Pag-asa Program” in selected provinces and the Province-led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension System were also presented.
Officer-in-Charge Assistant Director Rosana Mula graced this activity held last February 17-19, 2020 at the ATI Central Office in this city.