DUMAGUETE CITY, Feb. 14 (PIA) -- Metro Dumaguete College (MDC), aTechnical-Vocational education and training (TVET) Institution, is set to offer a three-year diploma program to encourage young people to engage in agriculture.

MDC administration led by its President Dr. Delma Manila gathered industry stakeholders and partners on Feb. 8 for the presentation and curriculum deliberation of its new course offering called Diploma in Agro-Marketing Technology.

The program curriculum aims to capacitate learners to become agro-entrepreneurs, financial analysts, and market strategists in the future as it combines Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) competencies with some subjects prescribed by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

“With this program, kaning sa diploma (which is) combination sa technical and soft skills: you learn from the classroom and then you apply that to the outside world,” Manila said.

The 12 TESDA competencies which learners are expected to acquire after completing the program include Agro-Entrpreneurship  NC-II, Agricultural Crop Production NC - II, Agricultural Crop Production NC - III, Animal Production (Poultry) NC-II, Agro-Entrepreneurship NC-III, Agro-Entrepreneurship NC-IV, Bookkeeping Management NC III, Landscape Installation and Maintenance NC II (Soft Scape), Customer Services NC-II, Events Management NC-III, Micro-Insurance Services (Mutual Benefits) NC-II, and Contact Center Services NC-II.

Other subjects that learners will study under the curriculum include market research, basic microeconomics, basic agri-marketing skills, business research, advertising, and professional salesmanship.

MDC Vice President for Administration Dr. Alwina De Mira said the program about farming will teach students the practical and business side of agriculture.

“This is a start to encourage these young people that there’s more to farming than just katong tanom ka (og) pila ka yield (planting and predicting the yield) because you can now market these through digital marketing, you can now value add your crops through processing, you can now link to the world with just a click of your cellphones or laptops,” De Mira said.

MDC Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Eva Melon also said that learners will also be able to learn how to assess market opportunities and handle finances in the field of agriculture.

“When we speak about agro-marketing, this covers services that are involved in moving an agricultural farm to the consumers and these would include planning, organizing, directing, and handling of agricultural produce in such a way that farmers, the middlemen or the intermediaries, and the consumers will be happy and satisfied,” Melon said.

Once learners have completed the program, they also have the option to pursue a bachelor’s degree on marketing management or business administration.

Manila said MDC is hoping to open the program by August this year once TESDA approves the curriculum. (RAL/PIA7 Negros Oriental)