QUEZON CITY -- Twenty-three (23) farmer-members of the Tubod Farmers’ Association (TUFA) gained their skills in farming and knowledge on basic agricultural business after they graduated from the Farm Business School (FBS) of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in the province of Cebu.

DAR-Cebu Chief Agrarian Reform Program Officer (CARPO) for Program Beneficiaries Development Division (PBDD) Lilian B. Guanzon said farming is also a business because they need to manage it to make it profitable and market-driven.

 “The DAR implements FBS throughout the country and I challenge you to follow the other graduates who made it and apply the knowledge and skills you learned from the training and transform lands awarded to you into a flourishing business,” said Guanzon to the graduates of Barangay Tubod, in Sibonga town.

FBS aims to develop agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) to become agricultural entrepreneurs, and it is designed to help farmers learn and improve their knowledge and skills in entrepreneurship and farm business management.

Jona Oro, TUFA Bookkeeper, said through the FBS they learned the importance of recording all of their farm activities so that they could create their farm business plan. She added that with new learnings on basic business concepts, she sees the improvement they would have on their farming practices in handling and marketing their farm products.

Evelyn Revilla, one of the graduates and President of the TUFA, said that on behalf of her fellow graduates they would like to thank the DAR for giving them the opportunity to learn about various entrepreneurial skills.

“We will share these new learnings with our fellow farmers,” she said.

Among others who attended the graduation ceremony were Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer Liza Toroy, Development Facilitator Serviliano Del Mar of DAR Carcar Cluster, DAR Cebu FBS coordinator Marmee Padul, and other DAR personnel. (DAR)