CABANATUAN CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry vowed to continue to provide comprehensive technical and marketing assistance to local entrepreneurs to make Nueva Ecija products, particularly those featured in its One Town One Product program, globally competitive.
DTI Region 3 Director Blesila Lantayona said the series of seminars is slated in January to further producers’ know-how. The DTI, in cooperation with the local chamber of commerce and industry and other concerned agencies, identify viable products for small entrepreneurs.
Most of Nueva Ecija products with potentials in the global market, Lantayona said, are agriculture based.
This as the agency conferred awards to local government, a government agency and a local cooperative that pushed OTOP.
Lantayona led the awarding and annual congress here over the weekend which saw the local government of Gapan City as Best OTOP Implementer, the Gapan City Footwear Multi-Purpose Cooperative GCFMPC) as Outstanding OTOP SME (Small Medium Enterprise) and the Department of Agrarian reform-North-Nueva Ecija as Most Supportive OTOP Partner Agency.
Bi Pili, DTI provincial director for Nueva Ecija, said that based on records, the Gapan City LGU’s contribution to the program led to the realization of the holding of the 7th Tsinelas Festival that generated P1,981,110, increased by 30% in the income of footwear manufacturers, expansion of its market nationwide and employment of a total of 60,000 individuals.
This year, alone, the records showed, the investment generated amounted to P150 million. Every year, the sales is placed to almost P500 million even as the LGU’s active involvement also helped strengthened and empowered core group as well as gained support from various institutions.
With these support, the local footwear industry has reportedly overtaken Marikina in the volume of footwear production. Gapan City is now called “Footwear Capital of the North.”
Meanwhile, the CGFMPC has reported an investment of P9,919,500 as of September 2008, way above last year’s only P7,112,000.
“The City of Gapan Footwear Multi-Purpose Cooperative with the assistance of the LGU-Gapan City and DTI-NEPO, sees to it that all the plans and activities in the OTOP Workplan for footwear are being followed and implemented by all its members,” the OTOP Team reported.
The footwear industry supports 40% of Gapan City’s more than 150,000 entire population, it added. As of September 2008, according to the report, the cooperative had employed additional 238 new workers.
The DAR-North Nueva Ecija on the other hand, “has been a strong partner” of the DTI since its support services of the Comprehensive Agrarian reform Program started.
“The DAR continuously supports the idea of enhancing and strengthening the framework plan towards achieving the dream of making Nueva Ecija as the Dairy Capital of the Philippines,” The OTOP team said adding “its support has been translated into concrete actions.”
In dairy production alone, the DAR-North lends assistance to the cooperatives, particularly the Nueva Ecija Federation of Dairy Carabao Cooperatives which is composed of 29 primary dairy cooperatives, the DTI said.
Lantayona said the awarding is aimed at recognizing the agencies and people who work towards improving the lives of the people in the countryside through the OTP program.
