Month: November 2022

The Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) and Department of Agrarian Reform-Nueva Ecija (DAR-NE) sealed their commitment on Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) program with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

EPAHP is a strategic collaboration of government agencies to battle hunger, food and nutrition insecurity, and poverty.

DA-PCC Executive Director Dr. Liza Battad, DA-PCC at Central Luzon State University Center Director Dr. Ericson Dela Cruz, DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer (PARPO) II Eden Ponio and PARPO I Josephine K. Aguinaldo signed the said MOU today at DA-PCC Milka Krem, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.

“One priority agenda of the current administration is on boosting food production which will ultimately lead to food sufficiency,” Ponio said.
The MOU specified that both agencies will provide the participating Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) or Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) with support services for improved farm productivity through capacity building and technical support, infrastructure and facilities, access to financial assistance, and market assistance.

The participating ARBOs/ CBOs will be linked to prospective markets primarily the national feeding program of DepEd and DSWD which addresses malnutrition among Filipino children, as well as promotes the local dairy industry.

Five initial ARBOs and CBOs in Nueva Ecija were identified as beneficiaries to include: Eastern Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Simula ng Panibagong Bukas (SIPBU) Multi-purpose Cooperative, Catalanacan Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CAMPC), Bongabon Agriculture Cooperative, and Delaen Farmers Agriculture Cooperative.

“Sa lahat po ng ating magiging engagement, we can share with you whatever we have in terms of capacity building kasi iyon po ang strength namin. Sa DAR, we put premium importance on people as the lead or prime movers of development,” Ponio said.

Dir. Battad also added that qualified ARBOs/CBO’s under the Supplemental Feeding Program and related feeding programs will be accommodated soon with small-scale groups as priorities.

“Be assured na maliban dito sa limang nabanggit ay mayroon pang iba. Actually they are our champion cooperatives, kaya’t partner po tayo on helping build up relatively newer cooperatives because that is where assistance will be mostly needed,” Dr. Battad underscored.

Anyone who bets on a new business venture would be more than willing to do what it takes to predict its end game.

Having a clear foresight on how the venture will sustainably grow gives an entrepreneur confidence in the business. This is the overarching message of “Masaganang Benta Doble Kita”—the tagline for the recently launched “Dairy Box Investment Calculator” via Zoom last August 18 at the DA-Philippine Carabao Center headquarters, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.

Said tool, developed by the Planning and Information Management Division (PIMD), assesses the feasibility of opening a Dairy Box in a particular location. It will serve as a management tool to examine the cost and sales strategy of the market, to assess the profitability of the business, and to set a daily sales target.

Using the calculator, an investor will be able to see the actual amount of investment that is circulating in the business. This data can help the investor firm up a decision on whether to pursue or proceed with the venture or not.

PIMD’s Jan Czarina Salas, Mica Lindain and Aira Soriano, who introduced the calculator, said investors would save up on software development and accounting fees if they knew how to utilize the system.

“Dairy Box to me is an analogy of viability and continual improvement. I look at it as a model to elevate the business confidence of our assisted cooperatives and private investors that they may sustainably champion what the Dairy Box is meaningfully advocating for,” said DA-PCC Executive Director Dr. Liza Battad.

The highlight of introducing the Dairy Box Investment Calculator is that investors can visualize the potential of the dairy business in the market, as it provides the numerical presentation of demands and revenues for the products.

PIMD’s Joshua Villanueva, who developed the calculator, said that their team aims to support the investors of dairy box outlets to analyze the entire process and progress of the business. Having knowledge in deliberating and measuring plans for the business helps in the long run.

Meanwhile, Salas, DA-PCC’s focal for the Dairy Box, discussed the Objective Key Results (OKR) that are set for the operation of the dairy outlet including decrease in monthly “days with flagship product stockout”, increase in average daily foot traffic, and increase in average transaction size.

These OKR, in combination with the Dairy Box Investment Calculator, could potentially grow the business exponentially. The developers said this is a strategic move toward fulfilling the ambition of the Carabao-based Business Improvement Network (CBIN) project in establishing an inclusive, sustainable, and highly competitive local dairy industry.