The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the East-West Seed Philippines (EWPH) entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the project titled YABONG or Young Agripreneurs Building Opportunities, Nurturing Growth Bootcamp held on 9 August 2023 at the East-West Seed Hortanova Research Center in Lipa City, Batangas.
Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio (left), SEARCA Director and Mr. Jose Marie "Jay" Lopez, EWPH general manager
The YABONG Bootcamp aims to help young farmers succeed in vegetable farming by building their capacity in production and entrepreneurship. It also intends to showcase stories of young agripreneurs to inspire more youth to engage in planting vegetables.
Mr. Jose Marie "Jay" Lopez, EWPH general managerSEARCA and EWPH both demonstrate their commitment to making agriculture enticing to the youth. "With this partnership, we can work together on bringing in or developing young Filipino entrepreneurs who would like to go into farming," said Mr. Jose Marie "Jay" Lopez, EWPH general manager. Mr. Roderick Bayaborda, EWPH seed technology manager and YABONG Bootcamp program lead voiced the need to make farming "a sexy enterprise and profitable business."
Mr. Roderick Bayaborda, EWPH seed technology manager and YABONG Bootcamp program leadThis three-month bootcamp will be conducted in a hybrid modality, combining both online and hands-on sessions on vegetable production and entrepreneurship to be delivered by industry experts and practitioners. For its first run, the bootcamp will accept 20 young farmers with at least one year of farming experience. The applicants will be screened based on their dedication to pursuing vegetable farming as a business, willingness to serve as a model young farmer, and entrepreneurial mindset and innovativeness.
Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA director, shares Center initiatives promoting youth engagement in agricultureDuring the ceremony, Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA director, shared other Center initiatives promoting youth engagement in agriculture, such as the School-Plus-Home Gardens Project and the SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (SHARING). Furthermore, he expressed his optimism about future collaborations with EWPH.
Ms. Mary Ann Sayoc, East-West Seed group public affairs lead and Philippines foundation president, thanks SEARCA for partnering with EWPHMs. Mary Ann Sayoc, East-West Seed group public affairs lead and Philippines foundation president, thanked SEARCA for partnering with EWPH and mentioned previous SEARCA-EWPH collaborations like the Innovation Olympics 2.0. She stated that the YABONG Bootcamp would take Innovation Olympics 2.0 to a higher notch, given the project's technical skills training, funding, and marketing components.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Gregorio and Mr. Lopez. Witnesses to the ceremonial signing were Assoc. Prof. Joselito Florendo, SEARCA deputy director for administration and Mr. Bayaborda.
Others in attendance were Dr. Gerlie Tatlonghari, program head, Research and Thought Leadership; Ms. Beatrisa Martinez, executive coordinator, Office of the Director; Ms. Loise Ann Carandang, senior associate for communications, Partnerships Unit, and staff from the EWPH management committee, foundation, and council.