DTI ASSISTANCE. Edna Dizon, provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry, talks about the assistance the agency has provided to the various microenterprises and small and medium enterprises in Aurora province. The DTI's assistance, under its Shared Service Facility program, included the provision of machinery and equipment for coconut processing. (File photo by Jason de Asis)
MARIA AURORA, Aurora -- The coconut processing business in this province has received a big boost from the provisions provided by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The DTI, through its Shared Service Facility (SSF) program, recently turned over machinery and equipment to the members of the Rural Improvement Club (RIC) of Barangay Diome, who are engaged in the processing of sweets and native delicacies using coconut.
DTI provincial director Edna Dizon, in an interview Wednesday, said the provisions worth PHP318,000 include an oven, stamping and sealing machine, food grinder, hand mixer, coconut grater, milk presser, cooling racks, coconut expeller/presser, racks and trays, stainless working table with storage, and upright chiller.
“Revitalization and strengthening of the coconut processing industry in Aurora through the provision of technology assistance and institutional support, particularly the needed equipment and facility, will benefit households in the long run especially the unemployed and under-employed head of the families as well as the women folks and out-of-school youths. This is the aim of the SSF project, to improve the quality and productivity of the microenterprises and small and medium enterprises,” Dizon said.
The province of Aurora has an abundant supply of coconut with its central towns producing some 92.4 million fruits a year.
“Most of these coconuts are being harvested and sold to traders from nearby provinces like Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Bulacan, and Pampanga at minimal cost. At the same time, large proportion of coconut husks from copra making and trading of mature coconuts also contribute to unwanted farm waste and are usually burned,” she said.
Dizon said they saw the huge potential of RIC's coconut processing project in Barangay Diome which started operation in 2016.
“Thus, we did not hesitate to help them when they sought our assistance. We do believe that they will become one of the successful groups that the DTI has assisted,” she said.
Perlita Abaco, president of RIC in said village, said they started their project by making “bukayo” products and eventually ventured into other sweets and native delicacies.
“I know that it will never be that easy nor can happen instantly. I know that we must undergo a certain process, and that we needed someone else’s help. Thus, we sought the help of the DTI,” she said. (PNA)
