Venture into agriculture and you will instantly be provided with financial support, the Department of Agriculture (DA) told young Filipinos as it encouraged them to take this "leap of faith".
Through the “Kabataang Agribiz Grant Assistance Program,” the agency aims to provide the youth with financial aid to support them in establishing enterprises focused on crop and livestock production, fisheries, trading, processing, integrated farming, and agricultural technology, among others.
The Kabataang Agribiz intends to convince the younger generation that agricultural development and food production-related endeavors are a worth a try.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the new program seeks to make agriculture attractive to the youth.
“The young people chose to leave rural areas to pursue more lucrative jobs on commercial centers. Upang masolusyunan ang problemang ito, gumawa ang DA ng program para sa kabataang Pilipino upang makapagsimula sila ng kanilang agribusiness sa production, value-adding, innovation, at iba pa (In order to solve this issue, the DA came up with a program to allow the Filipino youth to start their own agribusiness in value-adding, innovation, and others),” Dar said.
The program, which has a total grant value of P74 million, is open to all interested natural-born Filipino youth aged18-30 who are ready and willing to engage in the agriculture and fishery business.
Applicants with experience and related training in either informal or non-formal settings will be preferred. Groups and associations are also encouraged to join provided that they meet the qualifications set by DA.
Qualified applicants must send their Business Model Canvas (BMC) with potential profit to the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service of the DA Central Office and to the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division in the regional offices.
“The main objective of this initiative is to encourage and motivate the young Filipinos to go back into farming and so we want to ensure that we give them assistance every step of the way,” Agribusiness and Marketing Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista said.