Seventeen Agroentrepreneurship National Certificate II students and three BB Agriventures OPC Farm School trainers visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 21 January 2025. They were welcomed by Assoc. Prof. Joselito Florendo, SEARCA Deputy Director for Administration.
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 (TESDA) partner in implementing scholarship programs on national certificates on agroentrepreneurship, agricultural crop production, and organic agriculture.
During the visit, Ms. Anna Gale Vallez, Program Specialist from SEARCA's Research and Thought Leadership Department, provided an overview of the Center's programs and initiatives focused on agroentrepreneurship. She highlighted two calamansi-focused projects—Upgrading the Calamansi Value Chain towards Improving the Calamansi Industry of Oriental Mindoro, which addressed the calamansi industry's technical and market constraints; and 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.
Ms. Vallez also discussed the activities under the Development of Coconut Industry Growth Areas in the Province of Quezon project, which includes the crafting of the coconut industry roadmap focused on the province's four major commodities: coco sugar, virgin coconut oil, lambanog, and copra.
To conclude the visit, the students and their trainers were treated to a tour of the SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (SHARING) AgriMuseum.