DavNor SMEs improved production under DTI’s SSF

A significant improvement in the production output of Shared Service Facility (SSF) beneficiaries from Davao del Norte was noted during a visit conducted by the team from Department of Trade and Industry on April 26, 2016.

 Shared Service Facilities (SSF) is a program of the Department of Trade and Industry which is designed to eliminate bottlenecks in the production process of MSMEs by providing necessary equipment and machineries. This will speed up the production process which in turn enable them to meet existing market demands.

The visit was part of the three-day DTI Services Caravan dubbed as “DTI Negosyo, Konsyumer at Iba Pa”. The Davao leg of the caravan was held at SM Lanang, in Davao City on April 25-27, 2016. The visiting DTI team was headed by DTI Assistant Secretary for Regional Operations Blesila A. Lantayona and consists of DTI regional directors and representatives from DTI attached agencies such as the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) and Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

Four SSF’s were visited including famed cacao products exporter Chokolate de San Isidro (CSI), banana powder producer AMS Employees Fresh Fruit Producers Cooperative (AMSEFFPCO) in Kapalong, the Engineered Bamboo Processing Center in Tagum National Trade School, and the vermi-composting facility of Rehoboth in Panabo City. These organizations reported an improvement in their operations due to the shift from the labor-intensive to machine-enabled production process.

The cacao processing equipments turned over by DTI to CSI helped the organization to attain quality standards in their Sikwate “tableya”, a local name for round flat tablets made from ground cacao beans. Aside from being used in hot chocolate drinks, their “tableya” has also become in demand with restaurants and bakeshops around the Philippines as a main ingredient to chocolate-based pastries and dishes. CSI also exports to Japan, Europe and Australia.

These MSMEs also disclosed an increase in gross sales due to the increased production volume. More importantly, they were able to penetrate new markets and employ more people from their area.

“Banana off-grade from the farms of our members used to just rot in the corner. Now, we are producing an average 10 tons of feed-grade banana powder every month thanks to the granulator provided by DTI under its Shared Service Facility Program.”, said Rizalie Calma, AMSEFFPCO’s Project Manager.

They are currently selling their produce to big feed mill companies in the country. The coop was able to generate more than one million pesos of income last 2015. “We are now providing livelihood not just for our members but for the whole community”, she added.

A total of 25 trade associations and cooperatives from Davao del Norte have already benefited from DTI’s SSF Program since it was launched last 2013. The agency is set to launch this year its last batch of Shared Service Facilities.