THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said a group of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the town of Santa Cruz, Marinduque province is now better equipped with agri-entrepreneurial skills after completing a Farm Business School (FBS) program offered to farmers with small landholdings.
All 39 farmers from Barangay Bintakay were taught market surveying, accounting, farm budget planning, benchmarking and market matching skills during the 25-session under the FBS program, the DAR said.
The DAR-FBS aims to develop ARBs to become agricultural entrepreneurs and is designed to help farmers learn and improve their entrepreneurship and farm business management knowledge and skills.
Ubaldo R. Sadiarin Jr., DAR Assistant Secretary for support services, said teaching modern farming and the basics of business to farmers are part of the agency’s plan to mold the ARBs into becoming the new breed of farmers.
“I am excited for the things that will come your way. With all your learning from the FBS program, I am positive that your farm yield and income will increase,” Sadiarin said to the 39 graduates.
The Bintakay Farmers Association, where all the graduates are members, also received farm implements consisting of 20 electric knapsack sprayers, mulching film, UV plastic sheet, seeds, vermicast, a garden hose and a rota-tiller.
The farm implements worth P168,000 will be used for their rice fields and for the associations’ organic vegetable production.
Federico Larracas, an FBS graduate, expressed his gratitude for all the support they have received from the government. He promised to apply his learning to his own farm.
The FBS program is a unique educational system designed by the DAR and the Agricultural Training Institute of the Department of Agriculture to help farmers learn and improve their knowledge and skills in entrepreneurship and farm business management.