The Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program equipped 100 farmers from Southern Leyte with skills in marketing and enterprise development, supporting their goal of establishing and maintaining profitable farm enterprises.
Throughout May, farmer associations across Southern Leyte participated in a series of entrepreneurship and marketing training batches, including the Benit Farmers and Fisherfolk Association (BFFA) of San Ricardo, New Star Women’s Association Inc. (NeSWAI) of Pintuyan, and the Brgy. Plaridel Farmers and Swine Raisers Association (BPFSRA) of Hinundayan.
Additionally, the Mahalo Integrated Farmers Association (MIFA) of Anahawan and Minoyho Fisherfolks Association (MFA) of San Juan were also capacitated through the same training.
The activity forms part of the program’s efforts to strengthen the entrepreneurial capacities of farmer-beneficiaries and enable them to make informed business decisions for their enterprises. By enhancing their understanding of markets, pricing, and value addition, the training aimed to help the associations improve the profitability and sustainability of their livelihood projects.
The SAAD Provincial Program Management Support Office (PPMSO) led the conduct of training, with the support of the respective Local Government Units (LGUs). Topics covered were fundamentals of marketing, market research, product development and branding, pricing and costing strategies, market channels, and value promotion. Participants were also trained to create a marketing plan for the farm enterprise.
Mr. Mario Vero, MFA Secretary, expressed gratitude for the learning opportunity provided for them.
“Mapasalamaton mi sa ingon ani nga klase sa training kay nadugangan ang amoang kahibalo kabahin sa importansya sa agri-entrepreneurship,” he said.
[We are thankful for this kind of training because we were able to gain more knowledge on the importance of agri-entrepreneurship.]
Also, Ms. Lourdes A. Obias of PPMSO Southern Leyte shared how the training was relevant.
“Ang mga farmers gi-train gyud sila na mahimo nga farmer entrepreneurs. Sa giingon pa sa training nga ‘marketing begins before production’, dapat i-mindset sa mga farmers nga kinahanglan naa na sila’y mga potential market before pa mo engage sa ilahang production,” she said.
[The farmers are being trained to become entrepreneurs. As discussed during the training, ‘marketing begins before production’; hence their mindset of having a ready market before production is necessary.]
The training complements the livelihood interventions previously provided by the program to the participating associations, including chicken broiler, chicken egg, and swine production projects. Beyond providing production inputs, DA-SAAD continues to invest in capacity-building activities to ensure that farmer organizations are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to manage their enterprises effectively.
By strengthening both production and business competencies, the program aims to help farmer-beneficiaries sustain their livelihood projects, expand market opportunities, and gradually transition from subsistence farming to agri-entrepreneurship. ###
Source: PPMSO – Southern Leyte
