Ifugao youth start ‘Japanese loach’ business after successful stint in Young Farmers’ Challenge

Ifugao, Philippines – Three young agri-preneurs from Hungduan, Ifugao could be the game changer in the “yuyu” or loach production business in Ifugao after starting a ‘yuyu’ farm using the cash prize they got from Young Farmers’ Challenge (YFC) competition last year.

Japanese loach is observed to have high demand in the local market to date which can be bought at P1, 400 per kilogram.

The production of Japanese loach was the business model canvas the owners of the ‘Am-Iyoung’s Yuyu Farm’ pitched during the YFC.

The team utilized the cash prizes they won in the said competition - the P 100,000 they received at the YFC provincial level and an additional P30, 000 from their own pockets in purchasing a 200 square meter plot of land to serve as a propagation site for around 500 to 700 Japanese loach fingerlings.

Through the competition, the young farmers bagged a P300,000 cash prize in the YFC National Level Competition and received National Outstanding Youth Agribusiness Models award.

They utilized the cash prize to expand their enterprise and to meet the constant demands of ‘yuyu’ fish in the community.

Am-Iyoung’s Yuyu Farm

Am-Iyoung’s Yuyu Farm was established by Josephine Guimangal, Lovely Joy Paddapad, and John Mark Daping.

“Am-Iyoung” is a sitio in Hungduan, Ifugao and ‘yuyu’ is the local dialect for Japanese loach.

The team explained that the word “Am-Iyoung” is a wordplay of “Am-iyong” and “young,” which means “young farmers of yuyu from Am-iyong”.

The group promotes their business as "the one and only ‘yuyu’ initiative in the province," focusing on creating organic and sustainable ‘yuyu’ for consumption and reproduction.

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