DTI highlights 2024 key projects that benefited Caraga farmers
By
Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) highlighted its key projects in 2024 that have contributed to the development in the lives of the farmers in the Caraga region, providing them sustainable livelihood.
During the recent Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas
episode hosted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga, Regional
Director Gay Tidalgo revealed that DTI’s major programs include the: 1) Export
and Investment Development Programs; 2) Industry Development Programs; 3)
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development Programs; 4) Consumer
Protection Programs; and 5) Consumer Education and Advocacy Programs.
“On Industry Development Programs, the key projects
that we have implemented include the Shared Service Facility (SSF), Rural
Agro-enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth (RAPID Growth)
Project, Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan, and Roads Leveraging
Linkages of Industry and Trade (ROLL IT) Program,” she said.
“As part of the RAPID Growth Project, we were able
to assist 4,277 smallholder farmers and 110 MSMEs; supported 125 farmer
organizations through enterprise strengthening and capacity-building
initiatives; conducted 23 capacity-building activities on production,
processing, and organizational development; implemented six Matching Grant
Agreements benefiting farmer organizations with P6.55 million in funding,”
added Tidalgo.
Tidalgo also shared that DTI has facilitated farm
rehabilitation covering 117.8 hectares and established 262 hectares of new
plantations. “We have completed the profiling of 1,931 farmer-beneficiaries and
supported trade promotion for 48 MSMEs/farmers,” she said.
In the implementation of the SSF in the region, she
elaborated that DTI Caraga has approved 13 SSF projects for Fiscal Year 2024
amounting to P169.475 million to support the farmer-MSMEs. SSF monitoring and
physical inventory was also conducted in Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte and
Agusan del Norte.
“DTI facilitated SSF deliberations and approvals
for project funding, ownership transfers, and usufruct extensions. We also
turned over successful SSF projects to eligible cooperators during the
Presidential Assistance to Farmers, Fisherfolk, and their Families (PAFFF),”
she said.
She further revealed that the ROLL It Program,
designed to prioritize infrastructure development in the country completed ther
projects in the region. “In 2024, together with the Department of Public Works
and Highways (DPWH) Caraga received funding for 31 projects, with a total
length of 11.29 lane kilometers, amounting to P701.165 million. In 2025, DTI
together with DPWH has approved funding for 31 projects with a total length of
7.79 lane kilometer, amounting to P566.535 million,” underscored Tidalgo.
Meanwhile, DTI’s completed projects included the NRJ BCIR-Mayor Democrito D. Plaza II Ave. Road in support of proposed Butuan City IT Park and Public Utility Transport Terminal, Butuan City, Agusan del Norte; and Hubang Barangay Road connecting KAAGAPMUCO (Kaagap Development Multi-purpose Cooperative) Processing Plant and National Highway in support to Coconut IC in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. (JPG, PIA Caraga)
