DTI-Guimaras Trains ARBs in Business Continuity Planning

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Guimaras Provincial Office, through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), conducted a Business Continuity Workshop on May 20, 2025, for the LANICA Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) Association to strengthen their resilience against business disruptions.

The training, attended by 19 members of the LANICA ARB Association, aimed to equip participants with the knowledge and practical skills to protect and sustain their businesses amid unexpected challenges.

Topics discussed included identifying and managing business risks, crisis response, operational resilience strategies, and long-term sustainability frameworks tailored for agrarian reform beneficiary enterprises.

Ms. Marimae Pueyo, CARP Trade and Industry Development Specialist (TIDS) and training facilitator, led the workshop, emphasizing the importance of proactive risk management in today’s volatile economic and environmental climate.

Participants engaged in interactive group activities, case studies, and scenario planning exercises to apply continuity planning to real-life agricultural and livelihood settings.

The initiative underscored how disruptions such as typhoons, market shifts, or logistics breakdowns can severely impact the economic stability of ARBs and smallholder businesses in rural areas.

“Through this workshop, we want to ensure that our ARBs are not only productive but also prepared and empowered to withstand uncertainties,” said Pueyo.

This training is part of DTI-Guimaras’ broader strategy under CARP to foster inclusive growth by building entrepreneurial capacity among agrarian communities.

By enabling agrarian reform beneficiaries to adopt risk-resilient business models, the government helps secure their livelihoods and promotes long-term rural development.

DTI-Guimaras said it remains committed to rolling out more capacity-building programs, including financial literacy, access to credit, and linking ARB products to broader markets.

Moving forward, these initiatives are expected to contribute to the creation of a more self-reliant and economically resilient ARB sector across Guimaras Province.

The LANICA ARB Association, composed of farmers and agrarian reform recipients, is among the active community-based groups supported by DTI to develop sustainable agricultural enterprises.

As Guimaras continues to recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic and climate-related disruptions, such grassroots initiatives are vital to building a stable local economy.

The Business Continuity Workshop is part of DTI’s localized support structure under CARP, which complements national development goals of inclusive and sustainable rural transformation.