Two startup teams from the College of Accountancy and Finance (CAF) of the Naga College Foundation, Inc. (NCF) secured the Young Farmers Challenge (YFC) Start-up Provincial Funding, following the rigorous pitching and selection held from October 15–17, 2025 at the Department of Agriculture (DA) Provincial Office in Pili, Camarines Sur.
Completing the 32 provincial grantees were Deliquash Food Products (squash spread) pioneered by Dany Rose D. Ariola, Mary Jane L. Encinas, Joan Marie M. Jacob, and Emjay T. Sto. Domingo; and Nipalikha Native Delicacies (nipa jam) led by Bea A. Chica, Honey Grace Dara A. Dormido, Danica P. Macrayo, Alec Zandra D. Musca, and Kimberly A. Nagal.
As qualifiers at the provincial level, the startups are entitled to a Php 80,000 capital infusion to be utilized for their “proposed innovation on agri-fishery enterprise.”
DA Bicol reported that teams from CAF, along with 30 other grantees from Bicol region (excluding Masbate), demonstrated “entrepreneurial attributes, innovativeness, a well-organized revenue stream, and value addition as well as initiatives in social responsibility for their proposed agri-fishery enterprises.”
Similarly, three other teams from the College of Business Management (CBM), operating under the TIGRE TBI, also won the grant—sweeping five spots for NCF and advancing to vie for an additional Php 150,000 at the YFC Regional Level this December.
Pursuant to DA Memorandum Circular No. 15, series of 2023, the YFC Startup is a “competitive financial grant assistance program for the youth who will engage in new or start-up agri-fishery enterprises.”
YFC‘s Open Category (Subcomponent A) caters to youth aged 18–30 who are interested in pursuing “a business idea with profitability potential.” | via Jeric A. Nuñez