Provincial Project Management and Implementing Units (PPMIUs) assigned under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) in CAR convened to review and enhance the quality of the provinces’ Provincial Commodity Investment Plans (PCIPs).

One of the recommendations during the recently concluded World Bank Implementation Support Mission is to enhance the quality of PCIPs.

Ferdinand V. Blanco, Planning Officer of the PRDP National Project Coordination Office (NPCO) emphasized that PCIPs need to be more integrally linked with the decision support instruments and processes of LGUs such as the Provincial Physical Framework Plan and Provincial Development Plan.

Likewise, Mr. Blanco said that both PRDP and non-PRDP sources of funding should be identified in the PCIPs to facilitate its integration in the planning and budgeting processes of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

During the activity, the PCIPs of the provinces were presented and critiqued by the planning officers from the NPCO, Project Support Office (PSO) and Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO). The Value Chain Analyses (VCA) on White Potato and Ube were also presented.

Meanwhile, DA-CAR Regional Executive Director Lorenzo M. Caranguian said that such activity is a good indication that the Project and the LGUs are working together to fast track the processes.

The RPCO-CAR has six priority commodities identified by the provinces for VCA. Among these commodities include coffee, aromatic and pigmented rice (heirloom rice), mango, banana, ube and white potato.

The PCIP, which is based on the VCA, contains priority programs and projects that aims to increase marketable surplus through investment on strategic rural infrastructure and livelihood enterprises.// Elvy Taquio, RPCO-CAR InfoACE

Ferdinand V. Blanco, NPCO Planning Officer discusses interventions/ sample project concepts across commodities and/or VCA segments.