08/03/2026
๐๐๐น๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ-๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ดโ๐น ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฑ
Standing tall as the sole recipient of P250,000 cash grant for their agribusiness model, three Mechanical Engineering (ME) students from the Technological University of the Philippines Visayas (TUPV) notched the top spot in the Young Farmers Challenge (YFC) Intercollegiate Regional Level in Iloilo City, Nov. 27.
The pitch titled โNight Bulbs,โ spearheaded by Janmel Roe Bico, Jose Marie Saludares, and Raphael Ursolum, alongside their coach Engr. Kevin Claveras, focused on the production of black garlic and black onion, both fermented variants of their raw counterparts, addressing the limited demand often faced by local farmers in the market.
โThe first thing that made us start this business idea is the fact that black garlic and black onion is basically unknown to our country, we're not familiar with it. With that in mind, we can contribute to our local farmers of onion and garlic by giving them extra assurance that they can have an income aside from the usual market itself, with the help of our product,โ Bico emphasized.
More so, Ursolum expressed that the cash grant would allow them to further improve their production process and efficiency to achieve better product quality, after which they plan to refine their business model canvas based on the feedback they received.
โAs TUPV students, we are also working on the development of technology that will move the farming industry forward. There is still a lot to be done, but we hope to bring it to our community in the near future,โ he added.
Serving as a competitive financial grant program by the Department of Agriculture (DA), the YFC aimed at uniting young people across the country and encouraged them to view agriculture as a viable livelihood while strengthening the countryโs agri-entrepreneurship sector.
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Via | Eloisa Victoria Laud
The Philippine Artisan Visayas
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Photo | DA - Western Visayas
