Congratulations to the Baluno Integrated Farmers Association (BIFA), headed by i...

Congratulations to the Baluno Integrated Farmers Association (BIFA), headed by its President, Mr. Roman Abilay, for being a beneficiary of the DOST Grants-in-Aid program, which provided ₱1.2 million in funding for the project titled Project Coco: Coconut Optimization for Community Opportunities. Additionally, BIFA has secured a ₱3 million zero-interest loan from LandBank to support the expansion and development of structures on the BIFA farm. Last year, BIFA participated in a three-month, community-based Farm Business School (FBS) on Coconut-Based Enterprise, a modular learning program funded by the DA-Agriculture Training Institute IX in partnership with the Philippine Coconut Authority IX and implemented through ZABIDA-CAMPO VIDA Agricultural Learning Center. BIFA has successfully applied the knowledge gained from FBS, particularly in the farm business cycle, farm business planning, selection of farm enterprises, production and profitability, proposal writing, and marketing to relevant agencies. These skills have been key to their growth and industry recognition. Special thanks to their resource speaker and mentor, Ms. Mary Jesamine Pollisco, ZABIDA Housing Administrator and CAMPO VIDA Training Officer, for sharing her expertise on FBS and inspiring the association to turn their plans into reality.