PCARRD has adopted the DATBED modality to develop the entrepreneurial skills of AFNR students and young unemployed graduates from selected public higher education institutions; at the same time creating educational income-generating projects to benefit the involved state universities and colleges (SUCs).
Under the AFNR-HR (human resources) program, three SUCs in the Southern Tagalog, Bicol, and Eastern Visayas regions were chosen to jointly implement DATBED projects with the DOST Regional Offices in Regions IV, V, and VIII. These SUCs are Bicol University (BU), Cavite State University (CvSU), and Visayas State University (VSU).
In a related development, an awarding ceremony for DATBED loan recipients was recently held at the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Capitol in Calapan City.
At present, there are 75 DATBED projects spread out in 10 provinces. In Region V, BU and its partner SUCs, namely: Camarines Norte State College (CNSC), Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBSUA), Catanduanes State Colleges (CSC), and Dr. Emilio B. Espinosa Sr. Memorial State College of Agriculture and Technology (DEBESMSCAT), have a total of 29 student-beneficiaries and 63 graduate-beneficiaries. They are involved in hog fattening, doe fattening, asexual pili seedling production, vegetable production, native chicken raising, tilapia raising, freshwater prawn culture, and egg layer and broiler production.
In Region IV, CvSU and the Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology (MinSCAT) have 12 beneficiaries. Their chosen enterprises are coffee nursery, coffee and lowland vegetable production, processing of banana chips and pickle preserve. Meanwhile, VSU is still in the process of selecting its own recipients of the loan program. (Rommel G. Bailey, S&T Media Service)
