The North Luzon cluster of the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) leads the nationwide implementation of enterprise development subprojects or I-REAP, as gleaned from the Project’s online Management Information System (MIS).

Comprising of the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Cordillera Administrative Region, the cluster has successfully turned over a total of 85 subprojects amounting to P83.1 million to various farmers, fishers and cooperatives. These account to about 94% of the country’s completed enterprises under PRDP.

The completed subprojects fall under the category of micro-enterprises, or subprojects under the P3-million bracket.

Under the I-REAP component, farmer organizations from 42 municipalities and 9 provinces have received farm machinery equipment, tractors, and feeds from PRDP that will increase the productivity of proponent groups while providing sustainable income-generating activities in the rural areas.

Among the enterprises that reported physical completion are: nine Cattle Fattening and Marketing Enterprises in Abra; 25 Farm Mechanization Service Facilities in Pangasinan, three in Ilocos Norte, two in Ilocos Sur, and four in Bulacan; 10 Palay Production Enterprises with Emphasis on Land Preparation in La Union,  20 in Isabela, 10 in Cagayan and 2 in Quirino.

In addition, 33 enterprise subprojects are currently under implementation amounting to P106.7 million, while 164 are under procurement process amounting to P215.8 million.

A total of 282 proposals were submitted and approved, covering more than half of PRDP’s national enterprise portfolio.

“We would want our proponent group beneficiaries to be more involved in business ventures to open doors for international export of our commodities. It is also our aim that through PRDP, our products will be known internationally,” said Project Support Office Deputy Project Director Elma Mananes.

PRDP’s I-REAP Component aims to strengthen and develop viable agriculture- and fishery-based enterprises by providing technical, financial and infrastructure support to eligible groups in targeted project areas within the priority value chains. (Kayla Arceo, PSO InfoACE Unit)