BAGUIO CITY – Four groups of agripreneur-aspiring students from three Universities in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) presented their chosen business model canvasses (BMC) during the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Regional Young Farmer’s Challenge (YFC)-Intercollegiate Competition on January 23, 2025, in Guisad, Baguio City.
Carelle Mae Buli-e, Sherly Masweng and Jernny Tomas of Benguet State University (BSU) – La Trinidad Campus pitched their Ib-a Food Products which focuses on the processing of dippig banana to flour; Dexter Cabarles, Ever Dainty Mal-in and Treo Jie Sevrino, also from BSU, showcased their ‘Mixtables’ BMC which dwells on the preservation of mixed vegetables for easy-to-cook/eat option; Robert James Marrero, Liezelle Poserio and Genevieve Saligen of Mountain Province State University presented their Boondock Animal Probiotics, and James Ballatong Jr., Leah Mae Venutura and Loilin Gayang of Ifugao State University-Hapao Campus pitched their sustainable mushroom farming BMC. The young agripreneurs were accompanied by their school advisers/coaches.
Spearheaded by the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD), the BMCs were adjudged as to entrepreneurial attributes, innovativeness, revenue stream, value addition, social responsibility, and university engagement. Trade & Industry Specialist Marsha Pasong of DTI-CAR, Technical Education & Skills Specialist II Jan Manuel Villanueva of the Cordillera State Institute of Technical Education, Guadaleva Coteng – YFC Awardee and Owner of Purest Heart Apiary, Senior Agriculturist May Ann Tuba-ang and Special Technical Adviser to the Office of the Regional Executive Director Joan Bacbac of DA-CAR served as the panel of judges.
The judges emphasized some pointers to consider in coming up with levelled-up business proposals namely the target customers, sources of raw products, innovativeness and/or leverage from commercially-produced products including proper costing. Most importantly, the sustainability of business considering that it is a group project.
“Always remember to observe – consider your product, your community, your target customers and market, are you at the right place, is it feasible? Continue to observe, evaluate, innovate and create,” Tuba-ang highlighted in closing.
For this regional competition round, however, none of the BMCs have reached at least 85% total score, which is the passing score to be eligible for the grant. Despite the result, the students were encouraged to continue with their proposed BMCs putting into consideration the identified areas for improvement, noting that these have potentials and possible impact in the various challenges faced by the agriculture sector.
The YFC Regional Intercollegiate Competition is open to at least a sophomore student of State Universities and Colleges who are members of the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC). Said program is designed to empower students to turn their innovative ideas into thriving agribusiness ventures which can support local farmers. By Janice B. Agrifino
