Eleven Farm Schools in Western Visayas Turn Students Into Agripreneurs

By Olivia Hart

Eleven public farm schools across Western Visayas have begun producing commercial agricultural goods under a new Department of Education (DepEd) initiative designed to turn students into "agripreneurs," not just farmers. The program, called One Farm School, One Product (OFSOP), launched in the third week of October and made its first public showing of student-made goods at the Literacy and Numeracy Expo that opened Wednesday.

Education Program Supervisor April Velez, DepEd's regional farm school focal person, said the initiative was patterned after the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) One Town, One Product program.

"OFSOP is the initiative of our regional director, anchored on the One Town, One Product of DTI. The farm schools have to concentrate on one product. They will have to produce in big quantities and turn it into other by-products to teach students how to become agripreneurs, not only farmers," Velez said.

The model is deliberately commercial. Each school picks one product, scales up output, and develops derivatives — a structure that mirrors the DTI program it borrows from.

Which products, and where?

Western Visayas hosts 11 farm schools: two each in Aklan, Iloilo province and Capiz, and one each in Antique, Guimaras, Passi City, Roxas City and Iloilo City. Each has committed to a single flagship product:

• Oysters and chili — Aklan
• Chayote and chives — Antique
• Native rice coffee and catfish — Capiz
• Papaya — Guimaras
• Bananas and native chicken — Iloilo province
• Mushrooms — Iloilo City
• Pineapple — Passi City
• Squash — Roxas City

The list leans toward perishable, low-margin goods. Velez acknowledged the expo displays were early-stage output.

"These were just preliminary products. We hope to produce more because students are also conducting research on other by-products, not only food products," Velez said.

That research angle matters. If students move beyond food into processed or non-food by-products, the schools add value rather than just volume — the difference between farming and the entrepreneurship the program promises.

What does the training involve?

The initiative pairs the schools with the DTI through its Be Your Own Boss Youth Entrepreneurship Program, which supplies entrepreneurship training alongside production. DepEd has not disclosed the budget attached to the effort or the volume targets for each school — a gap worth watching before calling the model proven.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara, who visited the exhibit, framed the program as more than a skills exercise. He said the initiative could help strengthen local food production amid the threat of El Niño, the climate pattern that periodically parches Philippine farmland and squeezes supply.

Angara also confirmed a funding channel: farm schools receive special support funding under DepEd's programs, allowing students in Western Visayas to propose their own projects. He did not specify the amounts. He added that the initiative gives learners an opportunity to showcase their creativity and entrepreneurial skills.

What comes next?

The open questions are scale and durability. Eleven schools, one product each, and a set of "preliminary" outputs do not yet constitute a supply chain. Whether the student-run products reach actual buyers — and at what price — will determine whether OFSOP produces agripreneurs or simply agricultural show-and-tell. For now, the early research into non-food by-products suggests the schools themselves see that gap too.

The next test is commercial: repeat sales, not expo booths.