Japan-Inspired Trade Program Now In Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Lowell Vallecer / 09 Jan) - “If they were able to make it succeed in Japan, in Thailand and even in the other parts of the Philippines, there is no reason why it shouldn’t succeed in Muslim Mindanao”.

This was the challenge posed by Assistant Secretary Maritess Maguindra, of the Department of Trade and Industry in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DTI-ARMM), to participants who attended the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Strategic Planning Conference held recently at the Grand Astoria Hotel in Zamboanga City.

The planning conference was attended by OTOP point persons from all the provinces under the ARMM. Maguindra said OTOP is all about rural enterprise development. OTOP’s success, she said, could very well address the economic underdevelopment in the ARMM just as it helped in Japan where the idea first started.

The paucity of gainful employment and economic activities in the ARMM are among the reasons why the Muslim Mindanao region is among the most impoverished and troubled in the country, Maguindra said.

The adoption by the ARMM provinces of the OTOP program as part of its small and medium enterprises development strategies, made it possible for this priority economic program of the national government to reach even the Philippines’ southernmost province of Tawi-Tawi which is under the administrative jurisdiction of the ARMM.

The identified provincial OTOP products in the ARMM provinces include rubber for Basilan, seaweeds for Tawi-Tawi and cassava for the provinces of Sulu and Maguindanao. Lanao’s OTOP is yet to be confirmed. The selection of the OTOP product or services is based primarily on the availability and reliability of supply of indigenous raw materials as well its marketability.

Dr. Sitti Amina Maluddin-Jain, DTI Assistant Regional Director for Western Mindanao, revealed that since the inception of the OTOP program in the last quarter of 2004, there are now 79 identified provincial OTOP products all over the country, except the ARMM. With the recent inclusion of the five provincial OTOP products in the ARMM provinces, the total number is now placed at 84, Jain said.

Jain suggested that the ARMM should adopt Halal Food Products as its regional model OTOP. ARMM is in the best position to pursue and promote halal food as majority of its populace are Muslims who adhere to the strict requirements on food preparation based on the teachings of the Quran, she said.

OTOP is patterned after the One Village, One Product (OVOP) project in Japan. The project was a huge success that it was soon copied in Thailand, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and other Asian countries. It was adopted as a priority economic program by the Arroyo administration in 2004.

To ensure its success, OTOP-Philippines offer a comprehensive package of assistance via a convergence of services from local government units, national government agencies and the private sector. These include business counseling, training, and product development, introduction of appropriate technologies, financing and marketing.

The DTI is tasked to advocate the program and provide the necessary support to the local government units together with the Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Land Reform, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Tourism and the Technical Education Skills Development Authority.

However, the program’s success relies much on the dedication, commitment and involvement of the city, provincial or municipal chief executives as they take the lead role in identifying, developing, and promoting a specific product or service which has a competitive edge for their respective area. (The author writes for the Department of Trade and Industry in Western Mindanao)