Twenty-five DAR and LGU personnel from Regions 1, 3, 10 and 11 received their certificates of completion while seven received their certificates of participation during the commencement exercises of the Agro Enterprise Development Certificate Program held at Xavier University on Jan 27.
The course is part of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) – Catholic Relief Services (CRS) partnership project entitled "Linking Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries to Corporate Supply Chains." It was offered by Xavier University through the South East Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN).
“The program helps the staff from DAR and LGU become skilled in organizing small farmers and transforming them into entrepreneurs,” said Fr Rene Tacastacas SJ, SEARSOLIN Director.
He added that the goal of the program is to help small farmers transition “from subsistence production into market-oriented agricultural production.”
The course, which started in February 2013, served as a pilot certificate program to be part of the future course offerings of SEARSOLIN.
To complete the course, the participants which hailed from the areas of Umingan (Pangasinan), Llanera (Nueva Ecija), Balingasag and Lagonglong (Misamis Oriental), Malaybalay (Bukidnon), and Matanao (Davao del Sur), had to undergo, among others, four training-seminars to learn the Clustering Approach to Agro-enterprise Development.
“The clustering approach involves eight steps,” explained Fr Tacastacas, “from partnership building among stakeholders up to the time when farmers conduct test marketing to getting institutional buyers for their products. After which a program of sustaining the enterprise goes into full gear.”
At the graduation ceremonies, video productions of the agro-enterprise development experience of the participants were shown as a way of relating and documenting their knowledge gained.
“We learned that there is a high demand for our product,” said Jose Pepe Romo, DAR project point person for Region X, who spoke on behalf of the graduating class. “We only need to explore it.” He also said that with the help of the program, they are able to demand a higher price for their product.
Joe Curry, CRS country representative, said that the project is one way of addressing the challenge of making small farmers into entrepreneurs who can engage the market. The project is able “to explore the potential of markets to help and not to hurt small farmers,” he said.
Also present at the graduation was DAR Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes who, too, acknowledged the importance of studying profits and markets to help small farmers.
DAR Undersecretary Jerry Pacturan also attended the ceremonies with Engr Gail dela Rita of XU’s Research and Social Outreach and XU President Fr Roberto Yap SJ who gave the Atenean benediction to the new XU SEARSOLIN graduates.