The Department of Science and Technology – Regional Office No. IX (DOST-IX) has released ₱ 711,000 grant-in-aid (GIA) assistance to a women group based in Piñan town, Zamboanga del Norte.
The assistance is intended for the procurement of new equipment to upgrade the bakery business of Piñan Women Livelihood Bread, Cakes & Pastries Association (PWLBCPA). The group has 20 members, composed mostly of mothers.
The pieces of equipment to be acquired include new gas-fired oven, dough mixer, dough kneader, proofing machine, food preservation facility, and stainless steel working tables, among others.
The assistance will also include other interventions such as product testing and analyses, product packaging and labeling, consultancy services on proper plant lay-outing and training on good manufacturing practices (GMP) and sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOP).
The interventions will help the association comply the food safety requirements, a prerequisite in acquiring a license-to-operate (LTO) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A license-to-operate from FDA will allow the association to penetrate bigger market as they will be able to sell their products in grocery stores and supermarkets.
Turn over of the cheque to Piñan Women Livelihood Bread, Cakes & Pastries Association (PWLBCPA)
Ms. Lesmes Zamoras, the association president, said their group’s prime objective is to uplift the living condition of their members through sustained income from their business operation. “We will be able to increase our production output and sales by acquiring those mechanized equipment,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Local Government Unit of Piñan (LGU- Piñan) has also provided counterpart funding assistance to the project. LGU- Piñan has allocated Php1-million for lot acquisition and building construction of the new production facility. At present, the association is occupying a rented space in Barangay North Poblacion, in the mentioned town.
For more information, please call please call (062) 991-1024/ (065) 908 0117 or text 09987924622 and look for Mark Vincent Jayson Baliña, or email us at dost9info@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DOSTRegion9. (MVJ Baliña)
(Source: DOST/PSTC-ZDN Press Release)