CALASIAO, PANGASINAN – Farmers in Ilocos region are being empowered to become competent entrepreneurs as the Department of Agriculture continuously provide training for farmer-cooperatives and associations (FCAs).
Rhoda Galban of the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office I’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD) is positive that the FCAs will become more capacitated and successful as the division, in partnership with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Agricultural Training Institute, guide them through their first steps in managing business.
Members of six FCAs from different municipalities in Pangasinan received training in Business Plan Preparation and Business Management in Calasiao on October 28-29, 2020.
Galban stressed that the farmers were trained to prepare their own business plan in a language that they understand so they can express their plans better.
“Before, farmers use the old templates in submitting the requirements, thus, giving them less freedom to input the much needed information regarding the cooperative or association,” she said.
The business plan and project proposal are among the requirements for the FCAs to avail of the projects and assistance from the government.
Through the said training, the farmers were guided on how to operate business, and prepare financial statements.
Meanwhile, the BIR explained the participants’ obligations and taxation, and how to avoid penalties.
The ATI worked in improving the mindset of the FCAs to adopt core values as a team.
After La Union and Pangasinan, the training aims to educate farmer-beneficiaries in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte for the succeeding weeks.
