THE RABBIT meat and chili processing business of University of Cordillera alumnus Harry Damogo Osboken was recognized as one of the Outstanding Youth Agribusiness Models by the Department of Agriculture.

DA’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service awarded  Osben P300,000 for his innovative business in the Cordillera Administrative Region during the first National Young Farmers Summit and Young Farmers Challenge: Kabataang Agribiz Awarding Ceremony. In his speech, Agriculture Secretary William Dar highlighted the youth’s role in developing the country’s agriculture. He said they are the new heroes of Philippine agriculture.

“This occasion takes me back to my starting days as a farmer and as an eager student of agriculture. But it was different back then. Farming was a means to live. You, on the other hand, are going into agriculture with a wide margin for creativity,” Dar said.

“You are taking over the space to feed our population, to green our cities, to change our eating habits. You are responding to the global challenges, such as hunger and climate change, that confound veteran economists, scientists, technologists, and entrepreneurs,” he added.