THE Benguet State University Agri-based Technology Business Incubator/Innovation Center (BSU-ATBI/IC) spearheaded the second Agribusiness Incubation Training for seven State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and one Research and Development Institute (RDI) on June 3 to 5, 2019 at Benguet State University at La Trinidad, Benguet.
The activity was funded through the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) National Agri-Aqua Technology Business Incubation Program.
With the aim to enhance understanding about business incubation, help the project teams design their incubators and find the strategies that are appropriate to their target clients, Dr. Ruth Diego, the program leader, initiated the conduct of the said training.
“Be an agent of change, leave a good legacy, and provide more opportunities in agriculture” was the challenge posed by Dr. Carlito Laurean, BSU Vice President for Research and Extension, to the participants of the activity.
The participants of the training is composed of the TBI project teams from Central Mindanao State University (CMU), Sultan Kudarat State University (SKSU), Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU), Laguna State Polytechnic University (LSPU), Forest Product Research and Development Institute (FPRDI), Capiz State University (CapSU), Western Mindanao State University (WMSU), and Western Palawan University (WPU).
The topics discussed were Client Management, Client Business Support Services, Marketing the TBI, Who are the TBI Target Clients, Agribusiness Value Chain Basics, Knowledge & Technology Transfer and Commercialization through TBI and the Day-to-Day Management of the TBI with emphasis on the Role of the TBI Manager.
Dr. Ruth C. Diego from Benguet State University (BSU), Dr. Pablo J. Rafael and Jamilton Esguerra from Central Luzon University (CLSU), Milyn C. Leghid from University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) and Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero from Optiserve Technologies served as resource persons.
To benchmark on a model start-up, the participants visited the Northern Blossom Flower Farm, owned by the Ganayan family in Atok, Benguet.
The activity was a continuation of the first Agribusiness Incubation Training for DOST-Agri-Aqua Project Teams-Batch II which was conducted on March 6 and 8, 2019.