Twenty-eight (28) participants of the Agro-Entrepreneurship for Inclusive Value Chains: Intermediate Course successfully completed their 4-day face-to-face session, 19-22 Feb 2024, in Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan.
The participants came from various parts of the country and represented 14 organizations, such as the Department of Agriculture, local government units, farm cooperatives, foundations, microfinance institutions, and academe.
Some of the activities that participants engaged in while in the main campus of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan (AVR 1, 19-22 Feb 2024).
Top photo shows the University President, Fr Mars P Tan, SJ (front row, 7th from left), with the participants and the training team.
The face-to-face session comprised of workshops and discussions at the main campus and a field visit to Miarayon and Lirongan, Talakag, Bukidnon, where the participants did a hands-on crop monitoring exercise and interacted with partner farmers. It is accredited as a continuing professional development program by the Professional Regulation Commission under the Board of Agriculture.
Before joining the face-to-face session, the participants had completed the 4-week asynchronous session of the course, delivered via eLearn, Xavier Ateneo’s official online learning management system. After the face-to-face session, they will begin a 3-month practicum with their partner farm organizations. They are expected to complete the course on 11 June 2024.
The intermediate course is part of the Agro-Entrepreneurship for Inclusive Value Chains training program, which aims to form a cadre of committed facilitators who will assist smallholder farmers engage in collective marketing using the eight-step Agro-Enterprise Clustering Approach (AECA).
This training program, which is an ongoing collaboration between the Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) and Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan (through the College of Agriculture), started in 2021.
The participants and the training team during their field visit in barangays Miarayon and Lirongan, Talakag, Bukidnon
and in the Farmers' Market (formerly, Bulua Vegetable Landing Area), Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City, 21 Feb 2024
The College of Agriculture thanks the Office of the President, Office of the Vice President for Higher Education, University Library, Security and Safety Office, Physical Plant Office, and other support units in the University for the warm welcome extended to the participants and the JGF team members. The College is also grateful for the support from LGU Talakag, Barangays Miarayon and Lirongan, our farmer partners and I-CHiVES para-technicians, and the administration of Cagayan de Oro City’s Farmers’ Market and Transport Terminal.
On behalf of the University, the College thanks the Jollibee Group Foundation for the trust and confidence in this continuing collaboration!