Building Market-Ready Agripreneurs through a Comprehensive Two-Part Training Series

The Provincial Government of Oriental Mindoro, through the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office (PAgO), implemented a comprehensive two-part training series to strengthen the agricultural value chain from postharvest handling to market-oriented enterprise development. Designed as a cumulative capacity-building program, participants were required to complete both phases to ensure a balanced set of technical, entrepreneurial, and marketing competencies.

The program benefited 40 members of Rural-Based Organizations (RBOs) engaged in food processing, recognizing their critical role in value addition, livelihood generation, and local economic development. The structured approach enabled participants to first strengthen production and processing skills before advancing to branding, marketing, and business growth strategies.

The first phase, “Strengthening Agripreneurs: Introduction to Proper Postharvest Handling, Value-Adding, Innovative Equipment, and Food Safety,” was conducted on August 26–29, 2025 at the Provincial Agriculture Center (PAC) in Victoria. It addressed key challenges such as postharvest losses, inconsistent product quality, limited value-adding practices, and food safety compliance. Experts from MinSU, DOST, and PAgO facilitated lectures and hands-on activities, including raw material preparation, Brix measurement, equipment operation, and the development of value-added products like calamansi juice, vacuum-fried produce, and    banana flour.

The second phase, “The Marketing Compass: A Strategic   Training to Navigate the Path to Business Growth with Gender and Development (GAD) in Agriculture” held on October 21–24, 2025, focused on transforming processors into market-ready agripreneurs. Facilitated by DTI and the Provincial GAD focal, the training covered marketing fundamentals, product positioning, pricing, and Gender and Development (GAD) integration in agribusiness.

Overall, the training series underscores PAgO’s commitment to building resilient, competitive, and inclusive agripreneurship in Oriental Mindoro.●