Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 10 and Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation, Inc. (PTFCF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in a virtual ceremony to formalize its collaboration.

RAPID Growth Project is a value chain based development program which seeks to establish strategic partnership among key players of the focused value chain to achieve the goal of increasing income of small farmers and unemployed rural women and men by providing enabling conditions for the sustained growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and establish strong backward linkages with farmers in the coffee, cacao, coconut and processed fruits and nuts sectors.

On the other hand, PTFCF is a non-government organization established under two bilateral agreements between the Philippines and US governments to provide grants and technical assistance to organizations that empower the people to sustainably manage the forests in the focal landscapes of Sierra Madre, Palawan, Samar, Leyte, Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental.

Under the signed MOU, the RAPID Growth Project and PTFCF will collaborate, complement, and/or co-share their resources; meet periodically to inform each other of the progress; and discuss specific activities and interventions that will be covered by the RAPID Growth Project and PTFCF.

The virtual signing was part of DTI Rural Agro-Enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth (RAPID Growth) Project’s efforts to work with PTFCF for the effective and efficient push for the development of community- and forest-based enterprises in Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental.

The MOU was signed by DTI-10 Regional Director Ermedio J. Abang and Forest Foundation Executive Director, Atty. Jose Andres Canivel. ♦

Date of Release: 12 May 2022