Magsaysay urges agri graduates to become entrepreneurs

Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. urged fresh graduates of agriculture, fisheries and other related courses to avail of the loan and grant program for young entrepreneurs who would like to engage in agriculture-related business.

The senator said that an initial amount of P25 million has already been appropriated for the implementation of the Young Farmers Program (YFP). The amount is part of the budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) under the General Appropriations Act of 2003.

YFP is a novel program introduced by Magsaysay, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture, to encourage young graduates of agriculture-related courses, as well as budding entrepreneurs, to engage in agribusinesses.

"With this program we can expect the more small and medium enterprises will be established and more jobs would be generated especially in the countryside. This would also enhance the competitiveness of the agriculture and fishery sectors in the local and foreign markets," Magsaysay expressed with great hope.

He also urged the government to support the funding needs of the program as he noted the growing number of unemployed in the country as new graduates join the ranks of unemployed year after year. He cited report released by the National Statistics Office stating that last year, about 3.6 million Filipinos were unemployed. He also observed that majority of agriculture graduates lack capital to put up their own business.

The YFP has two components, namely: The Young Farmers Entrepreneurs (YFE) and the Young Farmers Volunteers (YFV).

Magsaysay explained that under the YFE, the government is committed to help participating entrepreneurs secure loan representing 60 percent of the total capital needed for their proposed agricultural business. The 25 percent of their needed capital would be provided as grant by the program, while the remaining 15 percent has to be raised by the proponent as equity. The YFV, on the other hand, are young agriculture and fishery graduates who will serve as extension workers and promote potential investment areas in the agriculture and fishery sectors.

The YFP has already trained 25 participants composing the first batch of trainees who completed the orientation course on entrepreneurship provided by the program. Among these trainees, 13 were project proponents whose projects were already approved, while the other 12 were volunteers and are now rendering services in various regions.