In an interview with him during a visit to a farm in Cavite three days ago, Magsaysay revealed that he is seriously considering the idea of looking for contiguous lands which could be used by the young farmer-entrepreneurs to undertake their agricultural projects.
The senator, who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM), said that the idle farmlands of the state colleges and universities are ideal for use of those participating in the YFP program.
For instance, he said, the Central Luzon State University has about 400 hectares in Nueva Ecija, only about a hundred hectares of which are being used right now. At the Cavite State University in Indang, there is also a big area not yet utilized by the university.
Sen. Magsaysay is really upbeat regarding his brainchild. In fact, he is also tapping the support of financial institutions to accelerate the implementation of the program. These include government financial institutions such as the Land Bank and Quedancor, as well as private banks.
Under the program, the government is committed to help participating entrepreneurs to secure loans representing 60 percent of the capital needed for their proposed projects. Twenty five percent of the needed capital is provided as grant by the program while the remaining 15 percent has to be raised by the participant as his equity.
Magsaysay notes, however, that many of the participants who already have approved proposals and have completed the training provided by the program are having difficulty in coming up with their equity.
"It is in this aspect and also in providing the loan component of the program that we are expecting the support of the government and private financing institutions. We are also looking forward for the support and participation of the local government units on the matter," Magsaysay said.
Last Thursday, Magsaysay met with officials of Quedancor, Land Bank of the Philippines, Small Business Guarantee and Finance Corporation, and the Bankers Association of the Philippines to discuss the YFP and to identify areas where they could provide support to the program.
Since the program was launched a couple of years back, the YFP has already trained three batches of participants composed of 67 young entrepreneurs and 29 young farmer volunteers. Ten YFP entrepreneurs have already started to operate their respective projects following the release of their loans and grants, while others are awaiting the release of their loans.
Among the projects being undertaken by the participants are coco coir and coco peat production, duck raising, broiler production, tilapia production, cattle fattening, papaya production, and export quality peanut production. Some have already harvested and sold their products, achieving a fairly good initial income, according to Magsaysay.
One of them is Raffy Espiritu of La Union who has made good profits from his peanut project. He will now expand his production area with the availability fo good seeds. He has also made marketing arrangements with a trader in Manila who will buy all his freshly harvested peanuts.
Raffy will also go into the production of peanut seeds for planting. He will then encourage other farmers to plant peanut using his seeds, and he will be buying back their harvests for sale to his buyer in Manila.
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FARM TOUR. A farm tour will be conducted tomorrow, October 2, by AANI whereby three farms specializing in high-value vegetables in Antipolo and San Mateo, Rizal, will be visited. For more information, call tel. 839-1772.
