Assessment of the Antique Muscovado Industry Cluster / Abraham R. Fabila

Year : 2012

Number of Pages : 49 leaves

Adviser : Dr. Roger D. Posadas

Executive Summary

Organized in 2009, the Antique Muscovado Industry Cluster, Incorporated (AMIC) served as common ground for industry players and stakeholders working together for increased productivity and income of muscovado farmers in the province. While the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) provides the necessary technical assistance, there is still no steady supply of workable technology to the industry cluster leaving some technological concerns unaddressed. In its quest for sustainability and be able to produce good quality muscovado product, AMIC indicated the need for a strategic partner on research and development (R&D) and management. In this context, the Muscovado Technology Resources Center (MTRC) is established. It is the R&D institution operating under the scope of the academe, the University of Antique (UA) and R&D management of DOST. This year, DOST turns over most of its technological functions to MTRC making it as the major service provider of muscovado technology. Research, technology incubation and innovation system shall be initiated by MTRC in partnership with AMIC. Likewise, industry practitioners provide the inputs on technology gaps and market demand. Such partnership encourages joint researches until such time the muscovado industry becomes robust, dynamic and competitive. To date, AMIC does not have any connection with MTRC. They have yet to identify structures on collaboration and linkaging to develop a master plan on muscovado production. Moreover, the cluster has no readily available back-up R&D or innovation system support in response to new and instant local and global market opportunities and challenges. Generally, the study assessed AMIC operations, performance and ways to improve it through the entry of MTRC, which shall aid to identify and acquire necessary technologies to be locally, nationally and globally competitive. The results of this study will contribute to the improvement of AMIC through interventions related to technology generation and acquisition leading to improved performance and competitiveness in local, national and international markets. The data gathered shall serve as benchmark and information on subsequent technological and non-technological interventions of government agencies, local government units (LGU), non-government organizations (NGO) and other industry stakeholders to the AMIC in general, and its members, in particular.