Following the visit of the World Bank to Mindanao, Visayas and South Luzon, the implementation support mission team headed to the North to validate and review the ongoing subprojects of the Ilocos Region on May 22-25.

The World Bank implementation support is a semestral event held nationwide to assess the current progress of the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP).

Headed by the lead Agriculture Economist and Tast Team Leader Frauke Jungbluth, the delegates focused on evaluating the attainment of the project’s development objectives – increase in annual real farm incomes of household beneficiaries, increase in income for targeted beneficiaries of enterprise development, increase in value of marketed output and increase in the number of farmers and fishers with improved access to DA services.

“We’re trying to see what progresses we made, where there are things that are difficult, where we can help, where we can simplify procedures and make your life easier without sacrificing the quality and the concept of the Project,” said Jungbluth during the cluster’s kick-off meeting in Bantay, Ilocos Sur.

Jungbluth also said that this event marks the last support mission held before the Project’s midterm evaluation, thus the emerging benefits and impact is highly promoted.

“This mission has the additional element of where we can see some of these emerging benefits, and what difference do these subprojects make not only to the beneficiaries but also for the barangays, municipalities and provinces,” Jungbluth added.

The activity follows the mission held last November, by which a satisfactory rating was given by the Project’s funding institution.

During North Luzon’s leg, the composite team of the World Bank, National Project Coordination Office (NPCO), Project Support Office (PSO) Luzon A, and Regional Project Coordination Office 1 (RPCO1) visited three PRDP subprojects in the Ilocos Region. These are the Rehabilitation of Balecbec-Basca Farm to Market Road and Balecbec Bridge in La Union, Rehabilitation of Nalasin-Sungadan-Langiden Farm to Market Road in Ilocos Norte, and the Production and Marketing of Fresh Carabao Mangoes in Ilocos Sur. (Kayla Arceo, DA-PRDP North Luzon InfoACE)

Faith Sabio, president of the Cabugao Mango Farmers Association presents the business plan for the Production and Marketing of Fresh Carabao Mangoes in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur.

More photos from the World Bank visit: