Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson led the inauguration of the provincial government’s P26 million Technology and Livelihood and Development Center (TLDC), Shared Service Facility(SSF) and organic market at San Juan Street in Bacolod City Tuesday morning, January 31.
The facilities located next to the Negros Occidental Food Terminal Market are designed to upgrade the products of organic farmers and assist micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to boost their incomes.
“We will strengthen our assistance to our MSMEs through our SSF or shared service facilities,” Lacson said.
“With MSMEs comprising 99.5 percent of business establishments, their sector is the engine of economic growth, job creation, and poverty eradication. This project, with its focus on rebuilding the resilience and enhancing the capacities of the Negrense MSMEs, is part of our vision and goal to effectively implement an inclusive and sustainable economic recovery”, he said.
Lacson said it is not enough that doors of opportunities are opened for Negrenses, “we must usher them to their full potential”
The governor said with farmers and MSME’s raw materials, the TLDC will be instrumental in extending assistance, from product development, to market networking and linkaging, to promotion of the products, exposure and participation to trade fairs and other entrepreneurial opportunities, he added.
The provincial government’s support for organic farming would be incomplete if organic farmers did not have a fixed outlet for their produce, he said.
The TLDC will also be instrumental in enhancing skills development through trainings and networking for possible job placement, he added.
Lacson said he hopes those engaged in MSMEs will consider their challenges as opportunities, not limitations. He assured that the provincial government will assist them to be able “to thrive in this highly competitive and fast changing times”.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the provincial government spent P21 million for the construction of the TLDC and SSF building and P5 million for the organic trading post.
Diaz said the new facilities will provide added value to the farmers’ products, extend their shelf life, and enable them to get Food and Drug Administration approval to boost sales and income.*