Submitted by admin-r4b on
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Occidental Mindoro Irrigation Management Office (IMO) recently supported a five-day Farm Business School (FBS) for Rice Cluster farmers in northern Occidental Mindoro. The program, which incorporated Gender and Development (GAD) perspectives, brought together 25 farmer-participants from the MAPSA cluster municipalities of Mamburao, Paluan, Sta. Cruz, and Abra de Ilog.
Facilitated by the Department of Agriculture – MIMAROPA Regional Field Office (DA-RFO MIMAROPA) through the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) under the Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation (F2C2) Program, the training featured expert sessions led by Patricia Nina Tolentino, Organizational Development Officer, and Robert Jayson Rica, Project Development Officer.
Key topics covered included market dynamics and opportunities, farm clustering, competitive pricing, product development, market demand, leadership, partnership and network building, and the integration of Gender and Development in agro-enterprises. A highlight of the training was the Agro-Enterprise Planning Workshop, designed to equip farmer groups with the skills to operate as business entities focused on profitability, sustainability, and self-reliance.
Representing NIA Occidental Mindoro IMO’s Institutional Development Unit (IDU) were Irrigators Development Officers (IDOs) A. Ronnie G. Rapilo, Eugine Prado, and Angelica Obtinallia.
Through initiatives like this, NIA Occidental Mindoro IMO continues to strengthen its role as a development catalyst—empowering irrigators’ associations and farmer clusters not only with vital water resources but also with the knowledge and market-oriented tools necessary to make agriculture more resilient and business-driven. -Elan Vital D. Buhay, IDO A