Region 2 young farmers get aid

YOUNG farmers in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) continue to benefit from the credit linkage assistance under Kapital Access for Young Agripreneurs (KAYA) Program, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 2 office.

Among them was John Winston Soliven, a 27-year-old Juris Doctor graduate who resides in Iguig, Cagayan. He was a provincial awardee of the Young Farmers Challenge (YFC) Program 2021 and produces rabbit meat.

Rose Mary Aquino, DA Region 2 officer in charge regional executive director, said the program is part of the continuous support of the DA in the region through the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD) to its young farmer awardees.

Rosario Paccarangan, DA-Region 2 AMAD chief, said the program is a collaboration with the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (DA-ACPC) that continuously orients young farmers on the KAYA Program.

Soliven said the YFC program “holds true to its purpose as more young farmers evidently excel in their respective ventures.”

“The program provided us access to resources and opportunities that enabled our generation to venture into profitable agrifishery-based enterprises,” he said.

Also a KAYA Program beneficiary was Rochelle Lafrades from Piat, Cagayan, a YFC 2023 awardee.

Lafadres is now one of the DA-ACPC beneficiaries under the KAYA Program who also availed a zero-interest working capital loan for quail production and processing.

Paccarangan said the program aims to finance working capital or fixed asset acquisition requirements of startups, or existing agribased projects of young entrepreneurs and agri-fishery graduates 18 to 30 years old.

She challenged other young farmers to avail of the program by visiting the Young Farmers Challenge Region 2 Facebook page and website at https://acpc.gov.ph/ to learn more about the DA-ACPC programs.