DOST SUCCESS STORY:
RIGHT BUSINESS IDEA, RIGHT SUPPORT
Fernando C. Zamora, Featured writer and cartoonist, Peryodiko Davao
It was a brilliant idea when the proponent. Mr. Rudy Caoagdan, a banana farmer, thought of producing his own planting materials by putting up a tissue culture laboratory project in Makilala. But the proponent had to beat the odds. With starting meager capital of P 500,000.00 the basic needs for a tissue culture laboratory were partly resolved. In 2003, the tissue culture laboratory started to operate and hit an initial production of 10,000 to 30,000 plantlets a month.
The tissue culture laboratory had positioned itself as the only supplier of banana planting materials in this part of the region. While from the start, the idea was already smack of opportunities. More challenges were coming. With no competitor in the neighboring region, the demand for high-quality, disease-free banana planting materials had continuously increased consequently dwarfing the monthly production of the laboratory.
With ambitious plan to expand the tissue culture laboratory, the proponent approached DOST to seek for additional funding and technological assistance. The DOST 12 was more than willing to help the business see its goals. It advised the proponent to prepare a project proposal for submission to the science and technology department.
With the support of DOST, the proponent was able to acquire additional laboratory equipment to meet the growing needs for banana planting materials. Starting May 2007, the laboratory projected a monthly production of 250,000 plantlets – a far cry from its previous production capacity.
Through the technological assistance of DOST, the laboratory operation adopted utilization of farm wastes (charcoal, etc.) as strategy for energy conservation. The use of LPG fuel costing the proponent some P15,000 a month before, was totally removed from its production line, so to speak. Thus, 70% fuel cost reduction was realized.
In addition to this, the science and technology department was also given the opportunity to showcase the advantages with Cleaner Production Technologies that promote solid waste recycling and wastewater purification by natural method.
The support of DOST 12 succeeded in reenergizing the business which is now starting to rake in more successes. Its market base has expanded and more revenues coming in.
On the social responsibility side, the project created employment opportunity with its employment generation of 2,688 man-months that included backward and forward industries. Six (6) families of indigenous peoples were given opportunity to earn as workers in the laboratory.
The operation of the tissue culture laboratory with its current level of operations is not only hitting two-birds in one stone. As a matter of fact, this has positive impact as a support mechanism to the Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA) in its Program for Abaca Rehabilitation and Expansion.
All these inspiring indicators point to the significant contribution of the project in strengthening local economy, in particular, and the national, in general.
Any community-based business endeavor is a possibility not only as a profitable undertaking but also as vehicle in changing lives of some of our less fortunate brethren in the community given the right support like what the DOST did to the project.
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