QUEZON  CITY -- The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)  and the Mindanao Alliance Self-Help Societies Southern Philippines Educational Cooperative Center (MASS SPECC) will soon implement the Partnership on Agroenterprise Capacity Enhancement (PACE) project to strengthen the competencies and skills of the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) of the DAR in farm management as a business and facilitate their engagement with markets that will give their product high value.

MASS SPECC is the oldest and largest cooperative federation in the country which provides education, technical advice, and extension services to various cooperatives nationwide.

DAR Secretary Bernie Cruz said the PACE Project will be implemented through the   Regional Project in Rural Development (RPRD) of MASS SPECC which is being supported by the  German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation, or the DSIK Philippines.

“This initiative will go a long way in enabling our field implementers in all regions and selected provinces to re-frame the ARBs from the production-focused practice to entrepreneurial and market-led farming operations,” he said.

Cruz said the DAR still has a long way to go to improve the quality of life of the ARBs and other farmers.

“We have partners to help them, like the MASS SPECC and DSIK Philippines. I think this road has made it easier for the farmers to attain a better quality of life,” Cruz said.

Undersecretary for Support Services Office Emily O. Padilla said through the PACE Project, the ARBs and members of the ARB organizations (ARBOs) can gain new knowledge, skills, and competencies in farm management as a business, which hopefully can be bundled with other support services programs of the DAR like the Linking Smallholder Farmers to Markets and Microfinance (LinkSFarMM), Farm Business School, Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support Program, and even credit assistance interventions.

“We can help the farmers attain an entrepreneurial mindset and facilitate their engagement with their target markets that can give their products higher value,” she said.

Padilla said the PACE Project, can infuse fresh and new blood or young farmers in the agricultural sector to usher in a new phase in agriculture and in the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

“Through the PACE Project, the DAR, MASS SPECC, and DSIK Philippines will work together to enhance the capacity development interventions that are currently being provided to ARBs and ARBOs to address their emerging financial and non-financial needs in order to augment their farm productivity and income.

Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development (BARBD) Director Baltazar T. Cruz said the DAR will utilize the Farmers’ Business Simulation, a highly interactive and innovative training tool for farmers that will teach them the actual practice, improvement, success, and sustainability of start-ups and small businesses.

“This is in line with our attempt to depart from the usual lecture and technical inputs-heavy entrepreneurial training courses,” Cruz added. (DAR)