PRESS RELEASE
GOVERNOR Humerlito ‘Bonz’ Dolor led the inauguration of the newly constructed Provincial Agriculture Center (PAC), in the Municipality of Victoria, on May 9. Joining the governor were the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Philippines Lee Sang-hwa, Vice Chairperson of the Climate Change Commission Secretary Robert E.A. Borje, KOICA Philippines Country Director Eunsub Kim and GGGI Philippines Country Representative Marcel Silvius.
The 1,000-square meter PAC will serve as a one-stop incubation and innovation hub for smallholder farmers to develop high-quality processed food products to add value to their produce. The PAC is equipped with commercial grade food processing machines such as freeze dryers, fruit juice purifiers and automated packaging machines, as well as a cold storage facility, warehouse and solar roofing. It will also provide aggregation, consolidation and trading services to improve the distribution and trading systems of agricultural products in Oriental Mindoro, and to access institutional buyers outside of the province.
Governor Dolor expressed his gratitude to all project partners and key stakeholders for supporting the province in fostering a climate resilient agriculture sector and addressing problems besetting the agriculture industry by adopting a green growth paradigm, which is characterized by a balance of economic growth and environmental sustainability.
“The provincial government has been proactively paving a better path for our smallholder farmers in order to strengthen their competitiveness and improve their livelihoods. Through our 4-year collaboration with GGGI and resource partner KOICA, we are one step closer to bringing our export-quality processed food products to the global market. We have a new Provincial Agriculture Center (PAC) that will serve to promote our value-added products, which will drive productivity and higher incomes for our farmers. Four MSMEs now have new, state-of-the-art facilities, complete with modern equipment, which will enable their micro-enterprises to grow and expand, generate jobs in their communities and ensure a brighter future for their families,” Dolor remarked.
The PAC is a key result of the project: ‘Climate Resilient and Inclusive Green Growth for Poor Rural Communities: Accelerating Implementation in the Agriculture Value Chain in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines’ managed by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Philippines, and funded by KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency). This 4-year, US $5 million (Php 285-million) project supports the agricultural value chain development of key commodities by enhancing the entrepreneurial and technical skills of smallholder farmers and micro-entrepreneurs, and providing FDA-compliant agricultural facilities and agri-processing services.
“GGGI’s goal is to empower the farmers whose livelihoods largely depend on the local and informal economy, by providing financial and technical support. We also enable them to build their skills, capacity and expertise to manage and grow commercial businesses and be able to gain access to the global market. They will, in turn, contribute to the development of the province by providing employment, livelihoods and a better future for their communities,” Marcel Silvius, GGGI Philippines Country Representative said.
Oriental Mindoro is a major ‘food basket’ of the National Capital Region which produces and supplies many of the region’s fruit crops such as banana, calamansi and mango. However, vulnerabilities to climate impacts such as typhoons, flooding, landslides, droughts and pests, has hampered the potential of the agriculture sector to achieve financial gains for smallholder farmers and reduce poverty in the province.
“The KOICA Philippines Country Office Plan recognizes inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development as the top priority area of intervention. Specifically, we focus on enhancing agricultural productivity, strengthening value chain integration, and supporting inclusive and sustainable development through capacity-building activities. Thus, this project, which enhances capabilities on climate resilient agriculture practice and value chain integration, can be an excellent example, where KOICA’s focus areas are well-represented in its project design,” said Eunsub Kim, KOICA Philippines Country Director.
Apart from the PAC, four MSMEs facilities were also inaugurated on May 8 to 10. The project constructed modern and climate resilient food processing facilities, furnished with commercial grade food processing equipment. Four micro-enterprises were chosen to be the beneficiaries of these new facilities, including the women-led micro-enterprise PARIC from the Municipality of Victoria, which processes calamansi into fruit juices and concentrates, MARBA from the Municipality of Gloria which makes banana chips, BARCO from the Municipality of San Teodora which produces coconut-based products, and SAMASABALATASAN from the Municipality of Bulalacao, a grassroots cooperative that produces seaweed or kelp noodles.
“Ang aming bagong pasilidad at mga modernong kagamitan ang siyang nakapagbibigay sa amin ng lakas ng loob upang maabot namin ang aming mithiing maging FDA-certified, para mas dumami pa ang aming mga customer at makakapagbenta kami sa mas maraming lugar. Sumali rin po kami sa iba-ibang capacity building activities at mga seminar tungkol sa organizational at financial management kung saan natutunan namin ang tamang pagpapatakbo ng negosyo at kung paano gabayan ang aming mga tauhan sa pamamagitan ng epektibo at maayos na pamumuno o leadership practice. Meron ding itinuro sa amin na food safety standards na talaga namang nakakatulong sa aming pag-a-apply sa FDA,” said Prescilla Tierra, President of PARIC.
[Translation: “With our new facility and equipment, we are more confident that we will reach our goal of being FDA-certified, so we can expand our market and clientele. We also joined various capacity building activities and organizational and financial management seminars where we learned about organizational management, and how to manage our staff better through effective leadership practices, as well as food safety standards which are all very helpful in our FDA application.”]
The processed foods and beverages export of the Philippines has already reached more than US $1.5-billion. The Philippine government, through the Department of Trade and Industry, wants to support more Filipino producers to sell their products abroad in order to strengthen the country’s export industry.
“The DTI has partnered with GGGI on this project in order to make the agricultural value chains climate resilient andgiving micro-entrepreneurs the technology and facilities so that they could produce more competitive products that can meet international quality standards. We have also supported the upgrading of their skills and knowledge as well as linking them to new markets. We hope that, with all the capacity building activities, the modern facilities and the institutional networks that we have put together, the project outcomes will be sustainable so that it will bring a better quality of life to micro-entrepreneurs, smallholder farmers, their families and their communities,” Lydia Guevarra, Director of DTI’s Resource Generation and Management Service noted.
Likewise the private sector has a crucial role in ensuring that locally-made, high-quality products are prioritized in the retail industry, despite the influx of imported goods.
“We believe that improving the income and livelihood opportunities of our fellow Filipinos is one of the most important aspects of poverty reduction. With this GGGI project, we are proud to work with four micro-enterprises in the agricultural sector to make sure that they are better equipped to grow and manage their own operations and to participate in the local, regional, national and, eventually, international value chains for their respective products and industries,” said Elvin Uy, Executive Director of the Philippine Business for Social Progress.
The four MSMEs are eager to begin operations in their new facilities. Their new commercial grade machines will also allow them to increase their production capacities and expand their businesses to reach more markets. Ultimately, they hope to provide much-needed employment to their community members, boost the agriculture industry in Oriental Mindoro and contribute to the development of the province.
“Simple lang po ang aking pangarap, ang makatulong sa pagpapalago ng aming kumunidad at makapagbibigay ng trabaho sa aming mga miyembro. Sana ‘yung aming mga kabataan ay manatili na lang dito sa probinsiya imbis na maghanap ng trabaho sa ibang lugar dahil marami namang pwedeng pasukan na trabaho rito. Ang proyektong ito ng GGGI at KOICA ay talagang nakapagbigay sa amin ng pakpak, upang ang aming munting negosyo, ay malayo ang mararating, sana pati sa ibang bansa,” Edmar Mendoza, President of the SAMASABALATASAN Cooperative said.
[Translation: “My dream is very simple, to help develop our community, to create jobs for our community members. I want our youth to stay in our province, instead of seeking opportunities elsewhere, because we can provide them with better opportunities here. The project of GGGI and KOICA has truly given us wings, so that our small business will grow further, will go far, and hopefully reach other countries.”}
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