DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/31 July) – The Regional Development Council of Region 11 has endorsed for funding a project that will support the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises.
Endorsed by RDC-11 is the Rural Agro-Enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth (RAPID Growth) project of the Department of Trade and Industry to the Investment Coordination Committee of the National Economic Development Board.
The council resolution approved last month said that the DTI requested it to endorse the project for funding under the International Fund Agricultural Development, a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries.
The project aims to sustain the “growth of agriculture-based Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that have strong backward linkages to farmers and generate employment in the target value chains.”
RDC 11 said the DTI 11’s RAPID Growth Project is aligned with the Council’s development thrusts and priorities under the Davao Regional Development Plan 2017-2022.
However, it said they saw the need to expand the project’s coverage in Davao Region, to include Davao Occidental, and to consider the membership of the Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation and Cooperative Development Authority in the Project Steering Committee .
DTI 11 director Maria Belenda Ambi acknowledged the opportunities in the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) that MSMEs in the region can seize.
“We know that the Philippine market with 100 million population, the ASEAN market with more than 600 million people and the world in general, offer a wide range of opportunities in the form of business activities which our MSMEs can possibly seize an explore, but, we have also to contend with the reality that the challenges abound which can either make or break our MSMEs more so the micro enterprises,” she said.
The MSMEs are also facing several threats brought about by environmental and other economic disruptions due to climate change and man-made disasters.
“In the face of these realities in the business environment, the challenge for our MSMEs to be resilient and competitive are underscored,” she said.
“By bringing together private and public sectors, the government, enablers, and taking the MSMEs to another level, we re more confident that we can bring about a more meaningful change that will redound to inclusive growth and prosperity for all. Together, we can be strategic in our efforts to empower MSMEs to excel and be the in the forefront of business,” she added. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)