Attended by 7 Municipal Local Government Units (MLGUs) and steered by the Regional Project Coordination Office 2 (RPCO 2) and I-PLAN Component of Cagayan Provincial Project Management Unit (PPMIU), a joint conference was conducted to enhance the updated Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) of Cagayan Province.

Atty. Brenda Ruma, Mayor of Rizal, and husband Vice Mayor Joel Roma, Aparri Mayor Bryan Dale G. Chan and Mayor Washington Taguinod of Penablanca and Municipal Engineers, Agriculturists and Planning Officers of Buguey, Enrile, Baggao and Allacapan attended the joint conference.

“Under the policies of PRDP, I-BUILD interventions should support I-REAP and the commodities included in the CIP. Let us then refine and study closely how the process could ease these LGUs in, as they have signified their desire to partner with us,” RED Narciso A. Edillo has said on August 6, 2020, during the initial meeting.

“Once the proposals are attuned to the PCIP, there would only be one word that resonates with you which will hurdle obstacles to PRDP funding. Compliance,” RTD Rose Mary G. Aquino said in her opening remarks.

The LGUs have aggressively shown interest to partner with the DA- Philippine Rural Development Project (DA PRDP) with infrastructure proposals, however, fine-tuning with the province’s PCIP and priority commodities per municipality is needed.

Reviewing the PCIP and the result of the expanded vulnerability and suitability assessment (E-VSA) borne out of value chain analyses (VCA), there must also be an enterprise to be supported by these infrastructures.

The VCA guides local government units in identifying priority interventions that will enhance the competitiveness of selected commodities. While the value chain is a full range of activities to bring products or services to markets, the VCA on the other hand focuses on creating value along the chain as well as the rational distribution of benefits among participating actors such as producer, processor, and traders.

To integrate the supply chain approach in rural areas, PRDP will focus on building capacities of farmers and ensures the provision of a strategic network of rural logistics infrastructure within the priority value chains.

Infrastructure such as farm-to-market roads (FMRs) and postharvest facilities should be within the identified priority value chain in a particular province or region.

Ms. Kay Olivas, PMED Chief, and RPCO 2 I-PLAN Component Head presented the updated PCIP while Mr. Mar de la Cruz, PPMIU and I-PLAN Head facilitated the inclusion of the MLGUs in the provincial roster.

Engr. Alexander Mangupag presented the I-BUILD FAQs and Ms. Emilyn A. Baculi discussed the I-REAP guidelines for enterprises.

The top six commodities of Cagayan Province are rice, corn, carabao dairy, carabao mango, peanut, and beef cattle. (Ferdinand N Cortez, RPCO2 InfoACE Unit)