Students and graduates of agriculture, forestry, and natural resources (AFNR) courses can now avail of microfinancing assistance. Through the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD’s) national program on ‘Enhancing the demand for AFNR graduates through science and technology (S&T), budding ”technopreneurs” can now have their start-up capital through the ‘DATBED-like’ component of the program.
DATBED stands for DOST-Academe Technology-Based Enterprise Development. It is a special loan facility of the Department of Science and Technology’s Technology Adoption and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI); an alternative to the more rigid and complex financing systems set by other private banks and formal lending institutions, not normally accessible to students.
PCARRD, through its AFNR program, has linked new AFNR-based entrepreneurs and the DOST-TAPI. The Council did this by training students and unemployed graduates on how to prepare their business plans and other requirements of the DATBED loan grants.
