DARPO-Cagayan launches two eFBS sites

The Department of Agrarian Reform Provincial Office of Cagayan-Batanes has launched another two (2) new sites for the enhanced Farm Business School (eFBS) program to equip agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Amulung, Cagayan and Gattaran, Cagayan with entrepreneurial skills and knowledge in farm management, marketing, costing, and basic accounting, aiming to boost their income and contribute to agricultural sustainability. 

The Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) enhanced Farm Business School (eFBS) has made a significant impact on agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and rural farming communities by transforming traditional subsistence farming into sustainable agribusiness ventures. Here are some key ways the FBS has contributed to the development of the agricultural sector:

1. Economic Empowerment of Farmers

The FBS program teaches ARBs how to manage their farms as businesses, enabling them to maximize profits and reduce losses. By applying financial management and marketing strategies, many farmers have transitioned from being mere producers to agripreneurs who actively engage in the agricultural value chain.

• Higher Income Generation: Graduates of the program have reported increased earnings due to improved farm productivity and better pricing strategies.

• Job Creation: With better farm management, some ARBs have expanded their operations, creating employment opportunities within their communities.

2. Improved Agricultural Practices

Through FBS training, farmers gain technical knowledge in modern farming techniques, proper record-keeping, and sustainable agricultural practices. These innovations lead to higher yields, better-quality crops, and more efficient farm management. 

3. Strengthening Farmers' Organizations

The FBS encourages farmers to collaborate and form cooperatives, which gives them better leverage in the market. Collective farming, bulk purchasing, and group marketing strategies have made it easier for smallholder farmers to negotiate with buyers, suppliers, and financial institutions.

4. Enhanced Market Access

Before undergoing FBS training, many ARBs struggled to find stable markets for their produce. The program equips them with market analysis skills, negotiation techniques, and product branding knowledge, allowing them to sell directly to consumers, supermarkets, and institutional buyers.

• Linkages with Agribusiness Enterprises: Some farmer groups have successfully secured contracts with local businesses, ensuring a steady demand for their crops.

5. Sustainability and Food Security

By teaching financial literacy, risk management, and diversification strategies, FBS helps farmers prepare for market fluctuations and climate-related risks. This resilience ensures consistent food production, contributing to both local and national food security.

Difference between the FBS and the eFBS: 

The Farm Business School (FBS) and the Enhanced Farm Business School (EFBS) programs of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) both aim to improve the entrepreneurial skills of farmers. However, there are key differences between the two:

1. Farm Business School (FBS)

• Traditional Approach: The FBS is a training program designed to help farmers develop business skills to manage their farms as enterprises.

• Focus: It emphasizes basic farm business management, such as planning, production, marketing, and financial literacy.

• Implementation: Conducted in agrarian reform communities (ARCs), teaching farmers how to increase farm productivity and income through structured training sessions.

• Target Audience: Smallholder farmers, agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), and rural communities.

2. Enhanced Farm Business School (EFBS)

• Expanded & Upgraded Version: The EFBS builds on the foundation of FBS but includes enhanced learning modules and digital tools for better farm business management.

• Focus: Aside from basic business skills, it includes advanced topics such as value-adding, digital marketing, climate-smart agriculture, and agripreneurship.

• Implementation: Uses interactive methods like experiential learning, market linkages, and more comprehensive mentorship programs.

• Integration with Technology: EFBS integrates modern farming technologies, e-commerce, and agribusiness innovations to help farmers adapt to changing agricultural trends.

Key Differences at a Glance

Feature	Farm Business School (FBS)	Enhanced Farm Business School (EFBS)
Scope	Basic farm business management	Advanced farm business & agripreneurship
Focus	Traditional farm-to-market approach	Digital marketing, value-adding, & modern techniques
Training Method	Standard classroom-based learning	Interactive, hands-on, and technology-driven
Technology Use	Minimal	Incorporates e-commerce, ICT, & digital tools
Market Linkages	Basic	Expanded to broader markets (e.g., online selling)

Which is Better?

• If a farmer needs foundational knowledge in business planning and farm management, FBS is a good starting point.

• If a farmer wants to scale up their agribusiness, use digital tools, and explore wider markets, the EFBS is more beneficial.

The DAR’s enhanced Farm Business School has become a game-changer for Filipino farmers by shifting their mindset from traditional farming to agribusiness entrepreneurship. With its continued implementation, the program holds the potential to further uplift rural communities, reduce poverty, and enhance the agricultural sector’s overall competitiveness.                  Photos: Rosemarie Cardona

 

Farm Business School (FBS): Transforming farmers into entrepreneurs

SOLANA, CAGAYAN-Around twenty-six (26) farmers from the Cadaanan United Farmers Association (CUFA) in Solana, Cagayan province recently completed the training on the first batch of Farm Business School (FBS) conducted by the Department of Agrarian Reform Provincial Office in Cagayan (DARPO-Cagayan). The FBS is a hands-on intensive training  originally formulated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations intended to extend entrepreneurial knowledge and skills to farmers who would be able to manage farm business operations on their own.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in a 2011 Report stated that farmers need to adopt their farm business to market changes and to improve their efficiency, profitability and increase their income in order to be competitive and be able to take advantage of emerging opportunities.

The FAO is an intergovernmental organization which has 194 member-nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union. Its employees come from various cultural backgrounds and are experts in the multiple fields of activity FAO engages in. FAO’s staff capacity allows it to support improved governance among others, generate, develop and adapt existing tools and guidelines and provide targeted governance support as a resource to country and regional level FAO offices. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO is present in over 130 countries.

The FBS was developed to improve the farmer-producers' entrepreneurial and management skills. Participants work and learn as a group through hands-on activities, addressing issues pertaining to the supply chain market challenges. Experiments on crop production are also encountered to improve existing practices with the end of increasing the socio economic benefits through participation in agricultural and market activities.

The training includes activities that study the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis, pinpointing and introduction of fresh products with packaging, evaluating profit margins, and crafting a business plan. Farmer-participants interact with market and industry players (traders, investors, suppliers). After which they advance as fully capacitated agricultural entrepreneurs.

Traditionally, Filipino farmers are seen as mere producers of agri products and not as businessmen. As such, they usually do not earn much from selling their produce as they are unskilled in terms of business acumen.  Because of that, only the middlemen and the traders are at the receiving end of the profits out of the farmers’ toil. Worse, after paying his debts to usurers, he is left with nothing when the planting season begins and again, he is forced to borrow planting capital at usurious rates and so begins another never-ending cycle of oppressive indebtedness.

The FBS enhances the capacity of farmers to take part and benefit from agricultural market connectivity and builds on the collective/group experiential learning of fellow farmers and shifting from originally production oriented to a business-oriented event. Additionally, there are also ongoing FBS sessions in Alcala, Cagayan for the same purpose being undertaken by DARPO-Cagayan. (Photos by: Elmer Custodio and Santi Mabborang)

Traditionally, Filipino farmers are seen as mere producers of agri products and not as businessmen. As such, they usually do not earn much from selling their produce as they are unskilled in terms of business acumen.  

The training includes activities that study the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis, pinpointing and introduction of fresh products with packaging, evaluating profit margins, and crafting a business plan. 

Participants work and learn as a group through hands-on activities, addressing issues pertaining to the supply chain market challenges. 

Experiments on crop production are also encountered to improve existing practices with the end of increasing the socio economic benefits through participation in agricultural and market activities. 

The FBS enhances the capacity of farmers to take part and benefit from agricultural market connectivity and builds on the collective/group experiential learning of fellow farmers and shifting from originally production oriented to a business-oriented events.