To assist returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in starting their own businesses, the Department of Agriculture, through the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (DA-AMAS) in coordination with the Philippine Agriculture Office in Seoul, launched “DA-DOLE Micro AgriKabuhayan para sa Balikbayan Program” in Korea.
Attended by 170 registered participants, mostly OFWs, this is the first international launch of the program.
“We created the Micro Agri-Kabuhayan program to support OFWs.”
“Hindi natin pwedeng pabayaan ang ating bagong bayani, lalo’t higit ngayong panahon ng pandemya. We created the Micro Agri-Kabuhayan program to support OFWs, providing them alternative source of livelihood while promoting agriculture and agribusiness development in the country,” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar in a video message.
Meanwhile, Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac of the Department of Labor and Employment Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (DOLE-OWWA) invited OFWs and their families to try venturing into agribusiness and avail the various assistance under the program.
Under the “Micro AgriKabuhayan para sa Balikbayan Program,” OFWs will acquire knowledge on starting and running their chosen businesses through training and seminars. It also teaches them how to earn and sell the products.
The launch was participated in by resource speakers from DA, AMAS, Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), and Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), Landbank of the Philippines, and OWWA, who presented the various government assistance offered under the program.
These included training, assistance to agri-production and processing, marketing, and financing support for aspiring overseas Filipino agripreneurs.
Philippine Ambassador to Korea Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega welcomed the participants and emphasized the “one-country-team support” and unlimited services of the embassy to Filipinos in Korea particularly on their aspiration of putting their own successful business back home.
“Sa pamumuno ng ating Pangulong Rodrigo Roa-Duterte, ang mga sangay ng ating pamahalaan tulad ng DA, Department of Trade and Industry, DOLE at OWWA ay nagsanib pwersa sa layuning mas mapadali at mapalakas ang kakayanan ng mga mamamayan, lalo na ng ating mga returning overseas Filipinos, na mamuhunan at mag-negosyo sa ating bansa. Ang PEAK-Pinoy ay pagpapatunay na kasama ninyo ang inyong embahada sa layuning ito,” De Vega said.
The program launch was made possible through a special edition of the PEAK-Pinoy webinar.
PEAK-Pinoy, the flagship program of the Philippine Embassy in Seoul in the reintegration preparedness for Filipinos in Korea, is a special collaboration of the Philippine Agriculture Office (PAO-Seoul), Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC-Seoul), and Philippine Overseas Labor Office – Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO OWWA- Korea).
It aims to introduce innovative and integrated approach to providing entrepreneurship and agribusiness seminars for Filipinos in Korea that is customized to their needs.
It features business opportunities in the different regions of the country and provides important linkages between Philippine-based offices and Filipinos even while they are still in Korea.
“Pangarap ng bawat OFW na katulad ko ang magkaroon ng sariling negosyo at alternative investment para sa aming pamilya sa Pilipinas.”
“We are always thankful for PEAK-Pinoy webinars that the embassy provides us. We appreciate all the knowledge and services the government provides for OFWs like me. Marami po kaming natutunan, especially in starting our own agribusiness venture in the Philippines. Pangarap ng bawat OFW na katulad ko ang magkaroon ng sariling negosyo at alternative investment para sa aming pamilya sa Pilipinas,” said Ma. Luz Robregado, president of Pinoy Investors in Korea, who is also an OFW in Korea.
Also present during the event were DA Usec. Kristine Evangelista, Agriculture Attaché Aleli Maghirang, Labor Attaché Maya Valderrama, Commercial Attaché Jojie Dinsay, DA-AMAS Director Ramon Yedra, OWWA NRCO Chief Dennis Cabato, DA-ATI Director Rossana Mula, Assistant Labor Attaché Terelou Pimentel, Welfare Officer Pops Deuna, Vice Consul Reisha Olavario, DA-ACPC Exec. Director Jojo Badiola, DA-AMAS Deputy Director Rowena Genete, and LBP Program Officer Yvonne Diala.
At the end of the webinar, participants were provided with Urban Agriculture and Edible Landscaping Starter Kits as part of DA’s promotion of Plant, Plant, Plant program.
