Agriculture Sec. William Dar urged millennials in Negros Oriental to venture in agribusiness as he unveiled the Department’s programs for the youth in a forum with local agriculture stakeholders here recently.
Dar announced that the department has set aside P2.5 billion which will be rolled out as cash grants for young people under its three programs, namely: agribusiness incubation, Kapital Access for Young Agri-preneurs (KAYA), and the Agrinegosyo Loan Program.
The country’s agriculture chief explained that the department is trying to imitate Sillicon Valley’s way of nurturing innovative individuals by providing a cash grant amounting to P500,000 to individuals who can present ideas or proposals that can boost the advancement of agribusiness industry under its agribusiness incubation program.
“Kung ang isang millennial ay may idea na makakatulong sa pag-unlad ng agrikultura at pagnenegosyo sa agrikultura ay magbibigay ang Kagawaran ng Pagsasaka ng grant kada individual na P500,000. Libre itong grant na ibibinigay namin. (The Department of Agriculture is ready to provide P500,000 grant to a millennial with ideas that can contribute to the advancement of agriculture and business industry. This is free),” Dar said.
Meanwhile, KAYA and the Agrinegosyo Loan Program are two credit programs with zero percent interest and payable within five years.
Under the KAYA program, a person aged 18 to 30 years old may apply for as much as P500,000 loan which they can use to start their agribusiness ventures.
Aside from the cash incentives, they will also receive mentoring support from schools, universities, or successful agripreneurs.
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On the other hand, the Agrinegosyo Loan Program is for young individuals who are engaged in farming or other agricultural activities to help them expand their ventures.
“Ang isang indibidwal or a team or a group can borrow, the lowest is P300,000 up to P15 million,” Dar said.
These loan programs are implemented through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council and other partner lending institutions.
A report from DA’s website said that individuals who want to apply for KAYA must submit an extensive business proposal for review and assessment from the department.
Dar hopes that through these initiatives, the department will be able to address the concern on the aging population of farmers.
“Para sa anak natin na ayaw bumalik sa nakayunan kasi sabi nila walang oportunidad ang agrikultura, ngayon inuumpisahan natin. Hinihikayat natin sila nagtanim at magnegosyo (We are now taking measures to entice our youth who say there are no opportunities in agriculture to go back to farming and engage in business),” Dar said.
“Alam natin na ating magsasaka ay may edad na. Average age is 60 years old. In another five or eight years or ten years magreretiro na sila. Kung hindi natin hihikayatin iyong mga kabataan ngayon, who will produce the food we will need in 10-years time? In 20-years time? In 30-years time? Sana ang mga kabataan dito sa Negros ay mahikayat na rin natin sila (We all know that our farmers are aging. The average age is 60 years old. They will retire in another five years. If we will not encourage our youth today, who will produce the food that we need We hope the young people here in Negros will consider going back to agriculture),” the official concluded. (ral/PIA7-NegOr)