SOUTHEAST Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) welcomed 17 Agroentrepreneurship National Certificate 2 students and three BB Agriventures OPC Farm School trainers on Jan. 21, 2025.
SEARCA deputy director for administration associate professor Joselito Florendo said these farm school students visited SEARCA to learn about the center's agroentrepreneurship projects.
BB Agriventures OPC Farm School is an integrated farm focusing on organic agriculture and sustainable livelihood in Sampaloc, Quezon, Philippines.
It is a Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or Tesda partner in implementing scholarship programs on national certificates on agroentrepreneurship, agricultural crop production and organic agriculture.
During the farm school students' visit to the SEARCA headquarters in University of the Philippines Los Baños, Anna Gale Vallez, program specialist from SEARCA Research and Thought Leadership Department, provided an overview of the center's programs and initiatives focused on agroentrepreneurship.
Vallez introduced two calamansi-focused projects.
One of these is the "Upgrading the Calamansi Value Chain towards Improving the Calamansi Industry" of Oriental Mindoro which addressed the calamansi industry's technical and market constraints.
Another is the "Technical Assistance for Development and Promotion of Calamansi" in Oriental Mindoro, wherein SEARCA collaborated with the provincial government in developing their calamansi industry roadmap.
Also discussed by Vallez were the activities under the Development of Coconut Industry Growth Areas project in the Province of Quezon project.
This project, which includes the crafting of the coconut industry roadmap, focused on the province's four major commodities such as coco sugar, virgin coconut oil, lambanog and copra.
The students and their trainers were also treated to a tour of the SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation or SHARING AgriMuseum.