THE Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas has urged 74 youths from the different provinces in the region who took part in the Business Model Canvas (BMC) orientation Monday, May 24, to submit market-driven project proposals.
The deadline for submission of the proposals for funding under the agency's Kabataang Agribiz Program is June 15, 2021.
DA-Western Visayas Program Focal Person Rhea Christina Resol said in a statement that the project proposals should be profitable, sustainable, and viable.
"The agri-business project should not depend on grants or subsidies alone. It means that the enterprise can thrive even after the project duration," she added.
The Kabataang Agribiz Competitive Grant Assistance Program is said to be one of the government's actions to address the declining number of farmworkers and the aging population of farmers.
DA-Western Visayas Executive Director Remelyn Recoter said as part of the OneDA Reform Agenda, the agency is working on transforming the Philippine agriculture by encouraging and soliciting support from the youths.
Today, most youths prefer to work abroad, go in the information technology (IT) industry and other white-collar jobs, Recoter said.
She added that in the 700,000 Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA)-listed farmers in the region, about 44.11 percent are over 50 years old.
"Through this Kabataang Agribiz Program, we want to harness the skills and encourage the youths to get involved in agriculture not only in manual labor but also in digital agriculture such as the use or operations of drones in farming," the regional director said.
Youths who can avail themselves of the program are those 18 to 30 years old, natural-born Filipino, and can either be in or out of school.
The agency prefers applicants who have formal or non-formal education and training in agri-fishery and must implement related enterprises gearing to advance the sector.
It said the applicants have to submit a BMC as a major requirement in the program alongside 2x2 size ID photographs, valid IDs (with clear photo and birthday indicated), and training certificates to agribizawards2021.amadRFO6@gmail.com.
As a tool concretizing business ideas into a cohesive strategy, the BMC shall contain nine segments.
These included value proposition, customer segments, marketing channels, customer relationships, key resources, key activities, key partners, cost structure, and revenue streams, it added.
Resol said the applicants have to come up with detailed and close to reality estimates of resources and materials in your BMC considering the current prices.
"Our recommendation is to start small. In the next few years, we can plan on how to expand it," she said, adding that "let us not compromise the sustainability of your proposed projects."
Interested applicants, either individual or group, can generate proposals for crops, livestock and fishery production, trading, processing, integrated farming, and agricultural technology or innovation.
Based on the program guidelines, the DA targets 1,300 workable proposals nationwide as winners at the provincial level.
Each shall receive P50,000 prizes to fund the projects.
Three enterprises shall be selected as winners in every region with a P150,000 project grant.
The best six agribusiness projects will then be awarded P300,000 each as national winners.
DA's Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division Chief Maria Teresa Solis, meanwhile, advised the youths to prepare project proposals based on their interests and inclinations.
"This pandemic time, we saw the importance of our farmers in securing and sustaining food production for the community despite the restrictions," she added. (With reports from DA-Western Visayas)