Coaching and mentoring in addition to formal training, according to the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) South Luzon Project Support Office (PSO) Director Shandy Hubilla, are essential services needed to strengthen the PRDP’s collaboration with its project partners.

“Learning by doing—it’s actually you being there with them rather than just waiting for documents to come,” Hubilla said.

According to him, the Project will be measured in terms of procurement, disbursement, actual operations, initial outcomes, and project results in the community. Thus, frequent communication and meetings as well as commitment to agreed targets and timelines are necessary to ensure smooth project implementation on the ground.

Under the PRDP, the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Executive Officer acts as Project Director to coordinate and localize the approach to extension. Through the PRDP’s demand-driven approach, extension services will be based on local needs, natural conditions, and climate vulnerability.

In Bicol, the Project hired 31 consultants engaged in local and national level planning (I-PLAN), infrastructure development (I-BUILD), enterprise development (I-REAP), and project implementation support (I-SUPPORT) in addition to the 32 organic staff detailed at the DA. These consultants do regular monitoring and validation. They also provide technical assistance to their project counterparts at the provincial and municipal levels.

“We try to understand before critiquing, partnering. We treat them as partners not as subordinates so we really have to treat them with respect and try to understand where they are coming from before we criticize,” Hubilla shared.

PRDP South Luzon PSO Director Shandy Hubilla (first from right) discusses some subproject updates and concerns with Camarines Sur Governor Miguel Luis Villafuerte (second from right) during the Management Meeting on July 13, 2017 in Pili, Camarines Sur. (Photo by Eduardo D. Collantes Jr., DA-PRDP Bicol RPCO InfoACE Unit)

Raising the bar in providing technical assistance

To facilitate the effective and efficient delivery of PRDP-Bicol’s extension services, PRDP Deputy Project Director and I-REAP Component Head Adelina Losa called for a meeting of the Municipal and Provincial Project Management and Implementation Unit (M/PPMIU) heads on July 31 in Pili, Camarines Sur.

The activity was followed by a series of management meetings in Catanduanes, Albay, and Camarines Sur on August 9 and 10 to discuss the progress and concerns affecting the I-BUILD and I-REAP subprojects implementation in each province, and to agree on targets and timelines.

In addition, the I-REAP team conducted a joint technical review of business plans for mangrove crab, live goat, and pili on August 22–25 in Legazpi City, Albay. During the said review, consultants from the national, cluster, and regional levels gathered to provide harmonized findings and technical assistance to the PPMIUs and proponent groups to fast track the review process and compliance to the Project’s requirements.

According to Losa, the review served as a venue for the Project implementers to help improve the quality and ensure the accuracy of the business plans so that these plans will be viable and sustainable when implemented.

PRDP-Bicol Deputy Project Director and I-REAP Component Head Adelina Losa (first from right) presides the Management Meeting with the Municipal and Provincial Project Management and Implementation Units in Bicol on July 31, 2017 in Pili, Camarines Sur. (Photo by Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

PSO I-REAP Component Head Manolo Luis Herrera instructed the consultants to be facilitative with their comments and assist the LGU to comply with it. Herrera also urged them to balance practicality with sound technical advice.

PRDP-Bicol targets the issuance of No Objection Letter 1 or Notice to Procure for the Catanduanes Mangrove Crab Production and Marketing Enterprise, Masbate Integrated Goat Production and Marketing Enterprise, and Sorsogon Pili Enterprise Cluster subprojects until September 30. It also aims for the completion, turnover of goods, and operation of the approved regular I-REAP and microenterprise subprojects including the Albay Coco Geonets Manufacturing Enterprise, Abaca Processing and Trading Enterprise, and Camarines Norte Pineapple Trading and Processing Project.

PRDP is a six-year World Bank-assisted national project being implemented by the DA. The Project aims to establish a modern, value chain-oriented, and climate-resilient agri-fishery sector in the countryside by providing key infrastructure, facilities, technology and information in partnership with local government units and the private sector. ### (Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP Bicol RPCO InfoACE Unit)