ILOILO City – Eighteen Kabataang Agribiz and Young Farmers’ Financial Challenge 2022 regional awardees are spearheading the newly established regional organization dubbed Young Farmers’ Challenge Club – Western Visayas.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) – Western Visayas Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division supported the young farmers club through conducting the capacity building and strategic planning workshop in Guimaras.
This workshop enabled young farmers to discuss their membership with the Young Famers Club National Federation. Further, it paved the way to the formulation of action plans which will be implemented for the next two years.
The Young Farmers’ Challenge of the Philippines Inc. is a non-stock, non-profit association of young farmers involved in agribusiness, agriculture, and fisheries. It is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“The goal is to gather young people to promote agriculture and to create an avenue for them to develop their interest in agribusiness. Likewise to capacitate them by giving appropriate training and skills needed,” according to YFCI-Western Visayas president John Ituralde Jr.
Experts from DA-Western Visayas tackled leadership and values formation, proposal writing, and project management.
For his part, YFCI Western Visayas vice president Eleazar Carmen hoped that the youth would participate in food security advocacy.
He also assured that DA and its attached agencies will be of help in technical and financial aspects to turn the ideas of youngsters into a reality.
At present, the YFCI membership may be exclusive among the awardees for the financial grant challenge. However, this young farmers’ club will soon open the affiliation and opportunities to all young people regardless of groups in a bid towards food security for all Filipinos. (DA, PIA-Iloilo/PN)
