Community business technology centers

Rural and agricultural development is still an elusive dream for the Philippines.

For decades, we carried the title “developing country” and of late “emerging economy.” Unfortunately, many of our Asian neighbors that were in the same group of developing countries in the early 1970s have gone past us.

Singapore has now reached the status of highly developed economy. South Korea, Taiwan and, not far behind, Malaysia and Thailand are now developed economies.

Debilitating factors

What went wrong with the Philippines?

There are many factors and reasons cited to explain the Philippine case.

Let me just cite one of these-failure to develop agriculture and, tied up with it, the rural communities.

Students of development economics are taught that many of the world’s most highly developed economies today, with very few exceptions, started their quest by putting priority to their agricultural and rural areas.

A historical review of the Philippines shows us that Presidents in the past always made pronouncements about developing the rural areas and lifting farmers out of poverty.

But after more than 60 years from our independence, this is still a dream.

My hope is that President Aquino will give this true priority, not just in words but in deeds.

Countries in our cohort as developing economies in the 1970s, like South Korea, Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia and Thailand now enjoy the benefits of their labor.

Standards of living between urban and rural dwellers are not too far from each other while their Philippine counterparts are still suffering the great divide between the rich and the poor, more so of the farming families.

Faced with this challenge, the Foundations for People Development (FPD) started its Community Business Technology Centers, or simply CBTC, in 2008.

These centers serve as techno-demo farms, farmers’ marketing centers, and farm input supply networks that provide technical and marketing support to farmers.

Techno-demo farms

The techno-demo farms serve as farmers’ field schools where farmers will see for themselves how new technologies or new crops or farming systems work. This way, technology transfer will be facilitated and easily replicated by farmers in the area.

A farmers’ marketing center (bagsakan) will also be established and attached to the CBTC where farmers can bring their produce for sale.

Common marketing service facilities will be provided like a stock yard, storage, sorting, grading, and packaging of agricultural products.

To facilitate the purchase of farm inputs, the farmers’ marketing center will also provide a store where these inputs can be made available to farmers. Thus, the CBTC serves as a one-stop-shop where they learn new ways of improving farm productivity and as a marketing and farm input supplier.

CBTCs will be owned and operated by FPD solely or in partnership with other parties, e.g. landowners, cooperatives, farmer associations, local government units and corporations.

To date, there are six CBTCs in operation.

The first one was established in Tanjay, Negros Oriental, followed by the one in Lipa City.

In partnership with Philex Mining Corp., four CBTCs were established in its mining site in Padcal (Benguet).

We are expanding the number of CBTCs by partnering with individuals involved in innovative farming projects.

The condition is that they are willing to share what they are doing by opening their farms to visitors and accommodating on-the-job trainees.

We now have partners of this kind in Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Palawan and Negros Occidental.

They have been organized as “Farms-Schools Network” in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Training Institute.

Support infrastructure

The CBTCs provide an important support infrastructure for the Pinoy Agripreneurs Program, which started in 2009. This program provides a two-year Diploma course for out-of-school youth, 18-30 years old, preferably children of farmers. For its curriculum, it makes use of the German Dual Training System where 70 percent of the time is spent on hands-on training while only 30 percent for classroom and theory.

In the first year, students will earn a certificate in Horticulture National Certificate (NC) II and in the second year Animal Production NC II.

If they pass the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) certification, students will also be awarded such certificates in accordance with the National Competency level per Tesda standards.

Those who are interested in the Diploma and Certificate programs may contact the MFI Farm Business School at (02) 6412444 or e-mail [email protected] or check its website at www.mfi.org.ph.

(This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines. The author is vice chairman of the MAP Agribusiness and Countryside Development Committee, and Dean of the MFI Farm Business School. Feedback at [email protected]. For previous articles, visit www.map.org.ph.)