Unemployment is one of the economic challenges the country faces today. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) 2024 Labor Force Survey on unemployment in December, about 1.63 million Filipinos were jobless. Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBSUA), true to its philosophy of “education for sustainable development,” is taking its own initiative to contribute to eradicating poverty in the country by extending its services and capacitating and empowering the local community through livelihood trainings that would help them generate income and improve their lives.
One of its initiatives is the current partnership with the Local Government Unit of Calabanga thru the Municipal Tourism Office, conducted a Livelihood Training on Value Adding Abo Fish to women, MSMEs, and youth from Calabanga. The training, conducted on November 27, 2024, at the Municipal Tourism Culture and the Arts Building, aimed to empower women, MSMEs, and young entrepreneurs of Calabanga by developing profitable products and maximizing its economic potential for food tourism.
Ms. Jennifer V. Perez and Ms. Dyanara Azana, faculty from the CBSUA-Calabanga campus, served as resource persons who shared their expertise by demonstrating the processing kropek (fish cracker) made from Abo-fish. Participants underwent actual processing of the product to practice their learning on the training. Abo (Tigertooth
Croaker) is a type of fish found in San Miguel Bay and one of the feelings of pride of Calabanga with the potential to improve the tourism of the municipality.
To enhance their knowledge of entrepreneurship, Mr. Ardolf B. Arce, faculty from the College of Economics and Management, discussed different strategies of food costing and pricing for the developed product. The participants also conducted a hands-on workshop to apply their newly acquired knowledge in product costing, considering its
market value and demand.
Ms. Miel Bongon, Senior Tourism Operations Officer at the Calabanga Municipal Museum and Tourism Office, emphasized that this initiative marks a significant step toward establishing Calabanga as a diverse and engaging tourist destination offering a variety of experiences and flavors.
This initiative is a part of the extension project entitled “Development of Food Tourism Project” spearheaded by its project leader of the project, Prof. Hanilyn Hidalgo, which aligns with CBSUA's mission to foster community development and innovation.
By providing participants with skills to develop value-added products from Abo Fish, CBSUA and LGU Calabanga anticipate that this will contribute to the economic growth and well-being of the community and improve the tourism of the Calabanga featuring their authentic products commercialized by locals. |𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯
