Ten (10) young farmers from Central Luzon availed the Youth Scholarship Grant on Organic Farming after passing the desk and field validation in February this year.
The Regional Screening, Selection and Evaluation Committee (RSSEC) for the Organic Agriculture (OA) Youth Scholarship Grant led by ATI-CL Center Director, Dr. Joey A. Belarmino, with its members Ms. Eduviges Pelayo, OA Focal Person of DA-RFO III; Ms. Zarah Jane N. Sendrijas, OA Focal Person of ATI-RTC III; Ms. Elsa F. Victoria, Chief of CDMS; and Dr. Jayvee Bryan G. Carillo, Chief of PAS conducted the desk evaluation of all applicants on OA youth and farm partners on February 17, 2023.
As a result, the RSSEC recommended ten (10) farm trainee applicants and five (5) farm partners of Region III for the Youth Scholarship Grant on Organic Farming for grantees and farm partners.
The farm trainee applicants across Central Luzon who passed are as follows: 1. Mc John G. Juan; 2. James Venzer R. Zuniga; 3. Awie B. Cancio; 4. Raniel Gutierrez; 5. Rommel Lorenzo; 6. Ephraim John Aquino; 7. Michael Morcillo; 8. Jose A. Mendoza; 9. Jon Viktor C. Farrales; and 10. Marvin C. Soriano Jr.
In addition, the following Learning Sites for Agriculture were considered as farm partners for the said program: 1. Myriad Farms Agri-Business Skills and Training and Assessment Center Inc.; 2. Teves Integrated Farm; 3. Tingtano Integrated Farm School, Inc.; 4. Lifebank Microfinance Foundation Inc.; and 5. Bonagua Integrated Farm.
Following the desk evaluation was the field validation on February 23-24, 2023 by the RSSEC. Further, the orientation and MOA signing among youth applications and farm partners was done on March 20, 2023. Prior to these events, an information caravan on Youth Scholarship Grant on Organic Farming was conducted via Google Meet on February 7, 2023 to promote the said scholarship.
The program will run for 21 months wherein 9 months shall be devoted to an internship at the farm partner and 12 months for actual implementation of their project as proposed through their business model canvass.
The said program is a collaborative effort between the DA-NOAP and the DA-ATI and shall be implemented nationwide. The program targets youth, enjoining women, out-of-school youth, and degree holders and farm partners coming from different provinces practicing chemical-free and/or organic farming system, as beneficiaries.
