The Negros Showroom is a retail platform wherein ANP member producers are given the opportunity to showcase and sell their products. Known to house the best products which are made in Negros, the Negros Showroom houses products from the various sectors, namely:
Food
Fashion & garments
Natural and organic
Furniture
Gifts, decors, and housewares
Tourism
Agriculture
The Negros Trade Fair is the longest running provincial trade fair started in 1985 by the Manila-based Negrenses who were moved by the news of displacement and poverty among the farm workers in Negros Island brought by the fall of the sugar industry.
The first Negros Trade Fair was held at the Makati Carpark at the behest of Bea Zobel from Ayala Land, Inc. with goods coming from backyard industries of Negros. Daniel “Bitay” Lacson, Jr., then Negros Navigation President and CEO, shipped the goods from Bacolod to Manila for free. The movement later grew as Bitay Lacson was appointed as OIC Governor of Negros Occidental and was re-elected into office.
This annual trade fair became a precursor for a vision to organize a formal association to consolidate the then fledgling individual producers. The Association of Negros Producers (ANP) was formed and registered in 1988 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, incorporated by the so-called “14+1” from the fourteen housewives and one gentleman who became incorporators of ANP. From then on, the task of organizing the annual Negros Trade Fair was passed on to the newly formed association.
To date, the Negros Trade Fair (NTF) continues to serve as a platform which enables ANP’s member producers and Negrense Entrepreneurs from the province of Negros the opportunity to reach bigger and better markets. This yearly event has grown to promoting the best of Negrense culture, craft, art, and trade.
Since 2013, the OURFood Program has helped and supported small holder farmers based in Negros. In partnership with AFOS Foundation, a German Foundation based in Cebu, ANP has trained and assisted more than 200 farmers on food safety standards which include Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and use of natural farming systems as a means to improve productivity and their income situation.
These partner farmers are now GAP oriented and/or certified and eligible to compete in the retail market. Through ANP, the farmers are now directly selling to premium customers which include supermarkets and other institutional buyers at very reasonable and stable prices. In doing so, traditional traders have been eliminated giving the farmers increased income and better chances to sustain themselves.
“Bulawan” is Ilonggo for gold. The annual product design competition of ANP, aptly named “Bulawan Awards”, showcases the ingenuity of the Negrense entrepreneur, where member producers bring their best foot forward by way of products that reflect excellence in craftsmanship.
Bulawan Awards aims to provide an incentive for its members and to encourage them toward more ingenuity, creativity and commitment to product distinction.
Through this incentive, members engage in product innovation and packaging or development of new designs. Recognition is given in food, natural or organic, fashion and accessories, gifts, decors and housewares and furniture categories. This exercise is a prelude to the annual Negros Trade Fair where winning entries are proudly featured and sold exclusively to a more discerning market.
The Provincial Government of Negros Occidental signed a historic Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Science and Technology Regional Office VI and the Association of Negros Producers, Inc (ANP) in March 2018 to formalize the collaboration to uplift and improve the lives of farmers in Negros through the traceability of agricultural products along the entire commodity chain in key pilot areas under the program called WeTrace Philippines.
WeTrace Philippines is a multi-stakeholder partnership supported by The Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the justice Foundation (justiceF) in Germany. The WeTrace project is simultaneously implemented in the Philippines by ANP and in Vietnam by Support Center of Agricultural Enterprise and Farm (VSCEF).
The project "Water Management in the Philippines Innovates (WPI)" aims to initiate innovation processes in vocational education and training to promote the transition to a demand-oriented vocational education system in the Philippines'water supply system.WPI utilizes strategic innovation management as a lever for upgrading staff capabilities in the area of water management.
The challenge of ensuring resilient drinking water supply for the growing population of Bacolod City is the WPI's pilot case. In cooperation with the Association of Negros Producers (ANP),the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority(TESDA) and the Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA),the project team facilitates innovation processes on two levels.An innovative mix of water and innovation management elements ensures that participants gain access to additional practical and theoritical skills needed to address the complex challenges of ensuring a resilient drinking water supply.The promotion of a supply-oriented innovation process is strategic.Vocational curriculum in the water management sector are developed or upgraded and long-term cooperation structures between leading German knowledge-holders as well as key stakeholders from the Philippines are established.
This approach ensures that current and future water management staff in the Philippines are equipped with the capabilities needed to independently find solutions to future challenges in an increasingly dynamic environment.
