CAFSD agribiz students win in Regional Young Farmers Challenge 2025
By Daniel Tapaoan, Jr., STRATCOM Correspondent
A team of third-year agribusiness students of the MMSU College of Agriculture, Food, and Sustainable Development (CAFSD) emerged champion in the intercollegiate category of the Young Farmers Challenge (YFC) 2025.
The group of Sheena Shane Dacanay, Sheena Marie Calderon, and Danica Layan received their award on December 10 at the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office (DA-RFO1), City of San Fernando, La Union. They were accompanied by agribusiness faculty member and team coach Mr. Michael Vincent Vea and CAFSD Dean Charlie Batin.
Their winning entry, SAHA Crunch, is a nutritious snack made from banana pseudostems, proving that agricultural waste can be transformed into a valuable and sustainable food product. The intercollegiate awardees received a plaque of recognition and a P250,000 cash grant to support the development and implementation of their enterprise. With this achievement, the agribusiness students are set to compete in the National Intercollegiate Competition next year.
Meanwhile, Ms. Darizel Vidad, a BS Agribusiness alumna, won first place in the Upscale category with her Vidad Food Processing Enterprise, receiving a P300,000 cash grant. Mr. Lexxus Den Alop, a fourth-year BS Agriculture major in Crop Science from the Dingras campus, finished seventh place with his Nature’s Layers enterprise, with a P150,000 cash grant.
This year’s regional competition took place on September 26 at the DA-RFO1, which was participated in by teams from state universities and colleges and local government units.
Spearheaded by the DA-RFO1 Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division, YFC is a competitive financial grant assistance program that aims to support and empower young Filipinos aspiring to venture into new agri-fishery enterprises. It includes various components such as Start-Up, Upscale, and Intercollegiate, offering financial grants, mentorship, development support, market linkages, and exposure.
Charlie Batin & Michael Vea
Dec, 12, 2025 08:38:am
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STRATCOM
