As the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) continues to impart its processes to the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) CALABARZON held the “Mainstreaming Activity of PRDP Processes and Tools” together with the DA Regional Field Office (RFO) IV-A from November 3 – 4, 2021.

The Mainstreaming Activity of PRDP Processes and Tools aims to impart all of the processes of the Planning and Monitoring section to the Regional Planning Division of the DA.

Having been proven for years, the efficiency of these processes and tools will greatly help to continuously improve and assist the livelihood of the farmers and fisherfolks in the country, even after the turnover of the PRDP to the respective provincial and Local Government Units.

During the activity, DA Regional Field Office IV-A Planning and Programming Section Chief and M&E Head Edna N. De Jesus expressed that the mainstreaming of processes will greatly contribute to the livelihood of farmer and fisherfolk beneficiaries in CALABARZON.

“We are very happy that all of us had a very purposeful day, and we are confident that they will be able to absorb and continue these fruitful processes from PRDP, and secure the promising future of our farmers and fisherfolks in CALABARZON,” De Jesus said.

During the first day, participants were introduced with a workshop lecture for the Value Chain Assessment (VCA) preparation, followed by a lecture on Baseline Data Gathering, Rapid Appraisal of Emerging Benefits (RAEB), Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) assessment results, and the use of the KoboToolbox app.

Members of the DA RFO IV-A Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (PMED) were divided into two group, wherein they were tasked to create a sample draft of a VCA report. Final presentations were shown the next day, after which the M&E mainstreaming activity commenced.

After giving feedback on both presentations, the DA-PRDP RPCO CALABARZON I-PLAN Component expressed that they are very pleased with the outcome of both group’s samples, saying that they have captured most of the content needed in crafting the document in such a short amount of time.

Likewise, the activity covered the discussion about the PRDP-MIS system, which has the component/data of the VCA, PCIP, I-BUILD, and I-REAP subprojects in progress; to formulate and update the progress in the PRDP-MIS system; as well as, processing of data using advanced excel formulations.

The mainstreaming activity was led by the DA-PRDP RPCO CALABARZON I-PLAN Component and the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Unit, together with the Project Support Office (PSO) South Luzon Cluster. (Eli Ocial, DA-PRDP CALABARZON RPCO InfoACE Unit)

PRDP RPCO Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Unit Head Edna de Jesus closing the activity ‘Mainstreaming the PRDP processes and tools to the DA-RFO 4A PMED staff’

PMED staff researching the Philippine Coffee Industry Roadmap Overview page for their VCA-making activity

RPCO 4A Planning Officer Mary Jane Rayosa in convergence with three PMED staff re: the Value Chain Assessment (VCA)-making activity

PSO South Luzon M&E Unit Head Arvin San Juan introduces his lectures for the day

Speakers and participants gather as the activity closes for the day