With the science-based tools and innovations developed for the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), the planning and budgeting processes in the DA bureaucracy will soon be institutionalized.

As the Project moves forward in providing viable agri-enterprises and world class infrastructures to the different Cordillera provinces, the Project’s I-PLAN (Investment in AFMP Planning at the Local and National Levels) component continue to take steps in strengthening the DA’s planning, programming and budget execution processes as well as improving the delivery of support services.

Among the tools utilized in the I-PLAN component in enhancing the planning and budgeting process includes the (1) Value Chain Analysis (VCA) that contains full range of activities which are required to bring a product/ service through the different phases of production, including physical transformation, the inputs of various producer services, and response to consumer demand; the (2) Vulnerability and Suitability Assessment (VSA); (3) Expanded VSA (e-VSA) and the (4) Rapid Market Analysis (RMA).

The VSA is used as a guide to determine the suitability of a particular area that could affect the production and suitability of a particular commodity, eVSA uses the BSWM-VSA result as a database and     collaborated with socio & economic parameters and also helps in crafting the VCA and PCIP while the RMA is a methodology to better understand the complex market systems in a short period of time.

All these scientific tools are used in the planning processes prior to the formulation of a Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) which serves as the main document for interventions and mechanisms to identify projects and activities as basis for funding from PRDP as well as from concerned government agencies and LGUs for the development or enhancement of the provinces’ priority commodities.

Mainstreaming Commodity Investment Plans

The Cordillera Administrative Region has seven approved priority commodities that were all subjected to Value Chain Analysis (VCA) preparation. These are Coffee, Cardava Banana, Ubi, White Potato, Aromatic and Pigmented Rice (Heirloom Rice) (cluster-wide VCA), Mango (cluster-wide VCA) and Beef Cattle (cluster-wide VCA).

Out of the seven value chain analysis submitted for approval by the National Project Coordination Office (NPCO), six value chain analysis have already been approved and one under compliance review.

All provinces have crafted their PCIPs based on the results of the value chain analysis of their priority commodities and these have been approved by their respective Provincial Development Councils (PDCs) of which Mt. Province and Ifugao have already undergone PCIP updating while Benguet’s PCIP updating is ongoing.

As the Project move towards improving the planning and budgeting processes, the provinces of Kalinga, Apayao, and Benguet have already started with the mainstreaming of their PCIPs to their respective Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan (PDPFP).

Through the mainstreaming, the PCIPs will be integrated in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs of the LGUs. The science –based tools, processes, and projects identified in the PCIP will then form part of a larger framework and much broader plans like the PDPFP and Provincial Development Investment Plan (PDIP), among others.

Further, the mainstreaming of the PCIP will lead to the harmonization of the policies, plans and programs of LGUs, concerned government agencies, private sector and civil society organizations.

According to Susan D. Balanza, I-PLAN Component Head, all provinces must undergo PCIP mainstreaming as a sustainability measure for the initiatives done by the PRDP. (Elvy Taquio, RPCO-CAR InfoACE Unit)