RPCO V I-PLAN Planning Specialist Mary Ann R. Cuya facilitates the PCIP Stakeholders’ Consultation on Seaweeds held at Mango Grill in Sorsogon City on September 23, 2015. The PPMIU-Sorsogon aims to use PCIP as a tool to revive the seaweeds industry in the province.
Sorsogon to mainstream commodity investment plan in agri dev’t
As Sorsogon pushes for the revival of its seaweed industry, it seeks to mainstream the use of Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) in the province’s agricultural development.
Rey Lara, planning specialist of the PRDP Project Support Office-South Luzon said that the PCIP should be utilitarian and should serve as framework for agricultural development in the province, mainstreaming it into the Provincial Development Plan.
A PCIP is a three-year rolling consensus plan between the Department of Agriculture and its partner provincial local government unit. The plan, based on value chain analysis of commodities, is designed to rationalize interventions within various segments of the commodity value chain. It is the basis in selecting eligible PRDP sub-projects.
“The PCIP is a rolling document [that will] help support [Sorsogon’s] seaweed industry. We will provide copies of the PCIP to BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) and other agencies involved. It will be the basis or the ‘Bible’ of [agricultural] planning and [programming] in the province,” Lara said.
Seaweed was identified as the second priority commodity of Sorsogon. Seaweed farming provides livelihood to about 1,300 farmers in the province’s top 10 seaweed-producing municipalities.
The Sorsogon Provincial Project Management and Implementation Unit expects that by giving the industry a second chance, it can contribute to the PRDP’s goal of raising the quality of lives of farmers and fisherfolk in this countryside.
According to the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center and the Service and Agricultural Statistic Service, seaweeds from Sorsogon have higher quality of gel strength than seaweeds from other parts of the country.
Sorsogon has an extensive coastal area. In fact, of the province’s 14 municipalities and one city, only one municipality is inland. The BFAR’s National Seaweed Technology Center is also based in the province. ### (Annielyn L. Baleza, RPCO5 InfoACE)
