The Department of Agriculture Philippine Rural Development Project headed by Assistant Secretary for Operations Engr. Arnel De Mesa briefed the mayors and representatives of Isabela Local Government Units on January 17, 2023, on the project’s scaling up at the Andrea Hotel, Cauayan City. 

De Mesa, the DA PRDP National deputy project director, spoke to the largest crowd the project has ever tallied during an orientation in the Cagayan Valley Region. He said that Isabela is one of the most significant provinces in the country as it is the top producer of corn and one of the leading producers of rice and other commodities.

In support of the request of Representatives Antonio “Tonypet” Albano of the first district of Isabela and LPGMA  Alan Ty, De Mesa said that this is the first orientation conducted in the country. 

“I thank your officials by proactively inviting us to personally talk to our mayors because PRDP will have a scale up and this will benefit your constituents,” he said.

The PRDP Scale-up aims to continually improve farmers’ and fisherfolk’s access to markets and profitability in selected value chains. 

The ongoing PRDP focused on catalyzing the startup, expansion, and business orientation of micro- to medium-scale agri-fishery enterprises, along with support for market access infrastructure; the proposed PRDP Scale-up project would involve a greater focus on a more strategic approach through public infrastructure interventions to improve supply chain connectivity and efficiencies while supporting for private sector led common service facility development and operations.

On the other hand, the fruitful discussions centered on how to avail of such grants. Ramon Mayor Jesus Laddaran shared his team’s best practices, from document processing to project implementation. 

He highlighted that one should be quick to act and proactive to fulfill all needed documents and achieve a common goal for his constituents. “My team can process a document for two hours while some Local Government Units (LGUs) take up to six months, I am in the stage of construction but the other are on the planning stage,” he said. 

Isabela Gov. Rodito Albano expressed that this is an excellent avenue to continuously collaborate with the DA PRDP to continue the legacy of being on top of the line in the North Luzon cluster, noting that Isabela has the most numbered subprojects for both IBUILD and IREAP. 

For his part, Vice Governor Faustino Dy III said that their office has been supportive of the DA PRDP since it started its implementation in 2013. “Isabela is of one those who have poured support to the DA PRDP and we will continue to collaborate with them for the greater good of our Isabelino farmers and fishers.”

He said the DA PRDP is one of the factors that helped the province to thrive in the agriculture sector.

Meanwhile, Regional Executive and Project Director Narciso A. Edillo said that he is happy that the implementation of PRDP Phase 1 was very successful in Cagayan Valley Region.

“Every project recipient was patient enough, especially during the tedious process of submission of requirements.”

He added that the LGUs and proponent groups did their responsibilities with commitment and dedication, which led to the outstanding performance of the Regional Project Coordination Office 02 in previous years.