DAR and CSU train farmers to become businessmen

In preparation to the emergence of the One-ASEAN economy, the Department ofAgrarian Reform-Provincial Office of Cagayan-Batanes (DARPO Cagayan-Batanes) and the Cagayan State University (CSU) have entered into an agreement to provide business development extension services to members agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations on the province of Cagayan.

It is an undeniable fact that globalization and trade liberalization are already affecting the way local economies are performing. In these cut-throat business competition, victory shall be achieved only by those who are prepared to meet the challenges of open market competition.

Building social enterprises manned by agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) are now being undertaken by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) by strengthening the capabilities of peoples’ organizations, cooperatives and individual farmer-beneficiaries by transforming them from operators of partitioned cluster farms into united producers and managers of large production scale, plantation type farmer-entrepreneurs.

In order to make the once small farm tenants now small landowners-cultivators competitive,  the DAR has partnered with the Cagayan State University-College of Business Entrepreneurship and Accountancy (CSU-CBEA) to provide trainings and assistance in the preparation of financial statements, drafting of feasibility studies/business proposals and business management, among others, in favor of marginalized farmer-beneficiaries in agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations.

These activities will further improve the capabilities of these organizations and cooperatives to access loans from the Land Bank of the Philippines and other financing institutions to enable them to improve and expand their business operations to meet the demands of economies of scale.

The DAR-CSU/CBEA partnership to this effect was formalized through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) executed on January 28, 2014 by and between the DAR Regional Director, Atty. Marjorie P. Ayson; CSU President Romeo Quilang; and Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer (PARPO) Virgilio M. Acasili. Other officials of the DAR, CSU, and the various ARBOs and cooperatives witnessed the MOA signing. /christiandsales