3rd OTOP fair highlights the best of Visayas goods

Bringing the bounty and distinctive beauty of Central Philippines, the recently held 3rd Visayas One-Town-One-Product (OTOP) Island Fair in SM City Cebu highlighted the best products and services that Visayas can offer to both domestic and international market.

DTI representatives from Central Visayas (Region VII) and Western Visayas (Region VI) said that the OTOP Fair this year is bigger and better as they have more exhibitors.

The fair which started in November 12 and will end this November 16 have 170 exhibitors selling OTOP products ranging from processed food, gifts, toys, souvenirs, novelty items, furniture, furnishings, natural fiber, and fashion accessories such as bags, shawls, headgears, and footwear as well as tourist destinations.

The exhibitors came from different towns and municipalities in the three regions of Visayas: Region VI (Western Visayas) composed of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental; Region VII (Central Visayas) composed of Siquijor, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Cebu as well as Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) composed of Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Western Samar, and Southern Leyte.

OTOP (One-Town-One-Product) is the priority program of the Arroyo administration to promote entrepreneurship in the countryside, create jobs as well as encourage patronage of native products and even enhance the tourism profile of the country, said Elias Tecson, DTI Region VII Business Development Division Chief.

He said that a town’s OTOP is identified, developed and promoted by the local chief executive of the area but its implementation is comprehensive as its assistance package includes the convergence of services from the LGU, national government agencies such as DTI, DOT, DA, DILG, DOST, TESDA and other GFIs as well as private sectors.

Tecson said that the OTOP program in the Visayas regions is well implemented because around 75 percent of LGUs in the Visayas have already established their OTOP programs and are now aggressively marketing and promoting these products and services.

He said that DTI provides assistance to the beneficiaries of the OTOP program such as business counselling, skills and entrepreneurial training, product design and development, appropriate technologies and marketing.

Right now, Tecson said that they are looking at packaging and labelling strategies that will lengthen the shelf life of food-based OTOP such as native delicacies and goodies.

In terms of economic impact, Tecson said that the OTOP program was able to create a multiplier effect in terms of income and job generation especially in the countryside.

Meanwhile, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) who participated in the trade fair see the intra-regional exhibit as a good avenue to promote their products and services to the local market and even get contacts for export.

Christina Anggana of Hannah’s Handicraft based in Minglanilla, Cebu shared that she participated in OTOP Visayas Island Fair for three consecutives years now.

She said that last year in Boracay, she was able to generate 65 percent revenue out from the amount of goods show brought and this year she hopes to double her sales.

She said that her positive sales show that there is definitely a huge market for OTOP products even in the domestic market.

A buyer commented that fairs such as the recent 3rd Visayas OTOP Island Fair serves as an eye opener for Filipinos because they are able to realize the vast resources of our country and the beautiful products that can be derived from our own indigenous materials.

SPIN program generates more jobs for recipients

Months after the Subcontracting Partners for Innovation Network (SPIN) program was rolled out to cleared conflict areas in the Visayas, residents in Cebu who have been beneficiaries of skills trainings conducted by the Cebu Gifts, Toys, and Housewares Foundation (GTH) have been starting to deliver booked orders from exporters.

The SPIN program is spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry Region 7 (DTI) upon a directive from President Gloria Arroyo.

Initially, the program has been rolled out in Central Visayas wherein the raw materials used by the program’s beneficiaries are subsidized by the Cebu-GTH Foundation.

Aside from providing the raw materials, Cebu-GTH Foundation led by its past president Jenifer Cruz from the 33 Point 3 Exports Inc. provided the technical assistance in the aspect of sending trainers and training the residents coming from six initially identified marginalized areas in Cebu.

The municipalities of Tuburan and Balamban in the North were the pilot areas of this intervention.

After DTI’s training needs assessment, there has been 33 cleared conflict areas in the whole Visayas shortlisted for the program upon the approval the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) particularly by the 78th Infantry Battalion.

Elias Tecson, the point person for this program here in Cebu said that their trainings is focused on a “market driven” scheme wherein the products to be made by the trained group are actual export orders already so that the training outputs pass the quality standards of the Cebu GTH member-exporters.

The trainees will have immediate purchase orders (POs) which would mean immediate earning for them.

He said that the trainings jive with the needs of most exporters because most of the time they do not have enough workers to finish the job orders of their clients so they need to sub contract some of these processes.

As of November this year, the SPIN program has been rolled out to 12 municipalities in Cebu and 14 trainings conducted have already benefited 673 beneficiaries since June.

The municipalities include Talisay City, Tuburan, Minglanilla, Balamban, Carcar City, Medellin, Borbon, San Fernando, Tabogon, Aloguinsan, and Bantayan.

In Talisay City, 25 beneficiaries were been able to deliver 35 percent of their P101, 000 purchase orders as of September.

Tuburan had 160 beneficiaries with booked orders worth P265, 000 from four exporters and so far they have delivered 65 percent consolidated orders.

Minglanilla’s 45 beneficiaries who have booked orders worth P80,000 has delivered 50 percent.

Carcar City with 43 beneficiaries have booked orders worth P121,250 while Borbon which has 53 beneficiaries have booked orders worth P95,000, and Aloguinsan with 52 beneficiaries has been able to make sales worth P200,000 already.

In Balamban, participants are members of the 78th IB who will later on become trainers in their assigned areas while other areas will still send samples to their respective exporters.

There were five trainings conducted last month and these were focused on hand weaving skills such as basic skills on basket weaving and related handicrafts.

After trainings are done in Central Visayas, training coverage will be expanded to Region 6 (Western Visayas) and Region 8 (Eastern Visayas)