Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-10, through its Rural Agro-enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth Project, links with Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan’s Service Learning Program (SLP) with a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

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 in Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, and Misamis Occidental.

On the other hand, the SLP, under Xavier University’s Social Development cluster, provides its students and faculty members opportunities to engage with communities outside the academic setting.

Through the MOU, the RAPID Growth Project will provide opportunities for the students and faculty members to engage with the Project’s beneficiaries and communities to foster their development and competitiveness.

The MOU was signed by DTI-10 OIC-Regional Director Ruel B. Paclipan and Xavier University’s President, Father Mars P. Tan, SJ. The signing was witnessed by Xavier University Vice President for Social Development, Engr. Dexter S. Lo, and DTI-10 RAPID Growth Project Special Projects Management Head, Ms. Jocelyn N. Rosales. ♦

Date of Release: 14 May 2024