BENGUET -- The provincial office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has asked local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) here to present their respective business plans for appraisal by the department and fellow MSMEs for improvement, and possibly for widening their market network.
"We have included pitching in our system during the (MSME) forum this year, the selected leveled-up MSMEs will present their business plans to the panel that will help them improve it," DTI-Benguet provincial officer Freda Gawisan told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) at the sidelines of the Adivay Festival here Friday.
Adivay is an agri-tourism festival focused on rediscovering the rich history, culture, arts, trade, and industries of Benguet. It aims to gather all the tribes of Benguet to share their cultural beliefs and practices, as well as boost the province's tourism industry and livelihood opportunities for the locals.
Gawisan said the DTI will put in new features yearly to their fora for MSMEs, such as the business plan presentation this year, to improve their products and help those who want to start a business.
"The MSMEs can learn from the panel and at the same time, they can learn from the presentation of other MSMEs," she said.
In the past five years, the MSME forum has been a major component of the Adivay Festival in Benguet.
"The event serves as an opportunity for MSMEs to meet other MSMEs," Gawisan said. "That will provide them with knowledge while listening to the presentation of the others. We also have some display of products and this time, we have invited the private sector."
In the past, speakers merely spoke in front of the participants, talking about programs and other information related to their activities. This year’s forum has an added feature: Those engaged in MSMEs present their own activities, which the invited panelists assess for improvement.
The dialogue between the MSMEs and the private sector panelists will help the entrepreneurs to be competitive in terms of packaging, promotion, and accessibility, Gawisan said.
"The MSMEs will learn from the process. The inputs to be provided by the private sector will benefit them, especially in their business plan," she added.
FDA registration
In Baguio and Benguet, 60 percent of the MSMEs are venturing in the food industry, according to DTI.
"Processed food is doing well because whether we like it or not, we eat. It is the easiest product to sell,” Gawisan noted.
However, with a lot of competition in the market, she said the DTI tries to bring the products of the locals to the national and international market by requiring them to register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Department of Health (DOH), the agency that oversees food product safety.
"To be competitive and go to the higher market, which is the trend now, we encourage MSMEs to have their businesses approved by the FDA and acquire license to operate (LTO) certificates to be included in the national market," she said.
Because getting an LTO is a tedious and expensive process, the government subsidizes the product testing for the MSMEs as a support for them, Gawisan said.
LTO registration that requires the testing of the product, costs a minimum of PHP40,000, which the government subsidizes.
“There will also be a subsidy for the conduct of product testing with the Department of Science and Technology for the One Town, One Product (OTOP) next generation (ONG) to penetrate the higher market,” she added.
The LTO registration will determine the nutritional content of a product, its moisture content, and other mandatory information reflected in the product label.
"This is required because as consumers, we have the right to know the content of the product, which is also a protection of the consumers that the government provides and wants to assure," Gawisan said.
“Products sold in the national market must have an LTO certification and subjecting our Cordillera products to this is one way of helping them level up and reach the national and international markets,” she added.
Gov't-aided matching sites
The DTI has been conducting trade fairs in different levels to prepare the MSMEs for the international market.
Gawisan said the local MSMEs have counterparts from other provinces and regions that can match up with them.
"What we are doing is we organize a market matching activity. We invite MSMEs and we match them with buyers. We don’t negotiate, we only create the environment," she said.
She noted that the department is also encouraging the MSMEs to come up with their promotional brochures, which are distributed to consumers in different areas.
The DTI also aids them in making such materials, Gawisan added.
She said the DTI has numerous programs in aiding the MSMEs, from start-up seminars and training, product development, packaging, product improvement, to business management and bookkeeping.
Meanwhile, for more than 20 years now, DTI-Cordillera conducts the “Impakabsat,” a national trade fair, where products of MSMEs are brought to Metro Manila and offered to the public, especially during the holiday season.
The trade fair is a promotional activity of the agency to assist in the marketing of locally produced items. (PNA)
