Young Farmer Graduate Interns Join ATI’s Agribusiness Pitching

DILIMAN, Quezon City – Young farmers who graduated from last year’s Filipino Young Farmers Internship Program in Taiwan (FYFIPT) participated in the agribusiness pitching recently conducted by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI). 

The agribusiness pitching activity is part of the FYFIPT’s post-training and re-entry planning phase where the young interns would present their agribusiness project proposals to vie for the grants that would be provided by the ATI as their start-up capital. Likewise, the activity is aimed to encourage the young farmers to venture in an agribusiness that will inspire more young people in their respective communities to become agripreneurs who will serve as partners of the government in improving the sector.

For the FYFIPT Batch 3 who graduated in 2023, 14 young farmers from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), regions I, III, Calabarzon, VIII, and X participated in the Agribusiness Pitching held last August 29, 2024. This activity was conducted through a blended strategy wherein all participating interns pitched their crafted agribusiness proposals via Zoom. 

The members of the evaluation committee were invited from the different attached agencies of the Department of Agriculture (DA), namely Evelyn Valeriano, Development Management Officer III of Special Projects Coordination and Management Assistance Division (SPCMAD), Dina Mejias, Project Development Officer IV and Nasseren Macarambon, Project Assistant III, both from Agricultural Credit Policy Council. The committee assessed the proposals as presented by the graduate interns based on innovativeness, sustainability, feasibility and profitability of their projects.

During the closing program, Valeriano addressed the participating interns and highlighted the contribution of the young farmers like the FYFIPT interns in the agriculture sector. “It is really high time to highlight the contributions of our young farmers by acknowledging your innovative ideas on agribusiness, and recognize your hard-work in designing your agribusiness proposals.” Valeriano also challenged the interns to explore other opportunities not only from the DA but from other government agencies to improve their agribusiness projects.

Among the agribusiness project proposals presented, three best proposals were selected to be awarded with a grant amounting to Php150,000. These grants shall serve as start-up or additional capital for the agribusiness plans of the winners. 

The following are the top three best proposals:

Moreover, the winners shall receive a certificate of recognition and a mock cheque with the corresponding prize during the awarding ceremony scheduled on November 15, 2024 during the send-off ceremony of the FYFIPT Batch 5.