Tacloban City –The Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB), a body which provides guidance, reviews and approves sub projects for funding under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), unanimously approved and correspondingly endorsed 13 Small livelihood Sub project proposals for funding under the project. This, however, is subject to the compliance by the proponents of the findings and suggestions by the RPAB during their evaluation.

In a meeting held on March 25, 2015 at the Leyte Park Hotel, Tacloban City, Department of Agriculture-8’s Regional Executive Director and concurrent RPAB Chair Bernadette F. San Juan lauded the proponents of the livelihood sub projects, “These proposals may likely be funded under the PRDP,” she said.

The livelihood sub- projects proposed ranges from livestock and poultry production, organic fertilizers, and root crops production as well as, aqua culture and fisheries.  These proposals come from the following cities/municipalities: Tacloban City, Alang-alang and Isabel, Leyte; Maasin City, Bontoc, Malitbog and Silago, Southern Leyte; Quinapondan and San Policarpo, Eastern Samar;   Calbiga, Samar; Allen and Catarman, Northern Samar.

“SLP is actually a window under the PRDP especially meant to provide livelihood assistance for the farmers and fisherfolk whose livelihood were affected typhoon Yolanda and the earthquake in Bohol,” Dir. San Juan clarified.

The total funding support which could be provided for each sub project proposed under the SLP may reach up to a million pesos. There is however a required equity from the proponent group which consists 20 percent of the total cost of the proposed enterprise sub project.  Dir. San Juan however, hinted, “This equity may be in -cash or in –kind.”