The Philippine Rural Development Project – Regional Project Coordination Office 02 (PRDP-RPCO 02) and the Provincial Project Management Implementing Unit (PPMIU) Isabela has recently completed the first two farm-to-market roads (FMR) for Luzon A Cluster.

These two sub-projects are the Olango-Siempre Viva-Trinidad- Manano FMR for Mallig, Isabela with a span of 9.17 kilometers and Magassi-Union-Camasi FMR covering the municipalities of Cabagan and Tumauini with 4.9 kilometers.

According to the Regional Executive Director and RPCO 02 Project Director Lucrecio R. Alviar, Jr., the combined budget for these two subprojects is over One Hundred Two Million and Six Hundred Sixty Pesos (Php 102.66 Million).

“These road projects in Isabela benefit thousands of households, easing their agricultural transport system by reducing transportation and hauling costs, and increasing their mobility which lead to the enhancement of delivery of goods and services and eventually leading them to the development of the dairy industry.”

Alviar gave details regarding subproject prioritization and selection and underscored that “these subprojects were carefully evaluated to benefit the most number of stakeholders along the value chain. Through the Value Chain Analysis (VCA), we have identified and prioritized interventions and subsequently packaged subproject proposals for evaluation and fund allocation.”

Meanwhile, Director Arnel V. de Mesa, PRDP National Deputy Project Director, congratulated the Province of Isabela, municipal local government units of Mallig and Cabagan and RPCO 02 for the completion of the road networks.

“This accomplishment is a proof of your good working relationship in the region. Actually, you are the first to finish sub-projects within Luzon A Cluster. Rest assured that the government will support your future proposals for the development of the agriculture and fishery sector,” he said.

Words of Thanks

Governor Faustino G. Dy III of the Province of Isabela expressed his acknowledgment to World Bank (WB) and the Philippine Government for the project.
“The Province of Isabela will always be supportive of the programs being implemented by the national government through the Department of Agriculture.”

He said that the completed roads will contribute to increased productivity not only among the residents of the involved barangays but for the whole community.

“Ang tao na hindi niya alam ang daan ay wala siyang patutunguhan at ang nakakaalam sa daan ay mayroong magandang kinabukasan. Ang kalsadang ito ay magbibigay ng malaking tulong sa amin lalo na sa paglabas at pagtinda naming ng mga produkto. Kami po ay nagpapasalamat sa napakalaking tulong na ibinigay sa amin ng gobyerno,” said Mr. Carlito Antonio, Barangay Captain of Olango.

Implementation Updates

Banking on being the first to complete an FMR, Isabela continues to intensify its efforts to complete another FMR subproject located in the Municipality of San Manuel worth Php 64.452 million. Another FMR in the municipality of Roxas, Isabela has already been awarded No Objection Letter (NOL) 1 and is now under procurement stage.

For the business enterprise component of the project, the province has been awarded NOL 1 for its proposed Isabela Dairy Enterprise worth Php 5.125 million, along with the province of Cagayan for the development of its Cagayan Dairy Enterprise amounting to Php 9.464 million.

The province of Quirino on the other hand, has five on-going construction of FMR subprojects in the Municipalities of Diffun, Aglipay and Cabarroguis with aggregate worth of Php 473.296 million while Cagayan has two FMR subprojects with bridges; one awaiting for the National Project Coordination Office (NPCO) issuance of the NOL 2 while the other is scheduled for re-bidding.

Now on its third year of implementation, the PRDP has funded a total of 26 subprojects in the region under the I-BUILD Component consisting of 19 FMRs and seven Civil Works. “Out of these 19 FMRs, six are on-going.”

For I-REAP, seven subprojects were endorsed by the Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB), two of which were issued NOL 1. Furthermore, 14 proposals for the Small Livelihood Project (SLP) were issued NOL 1. “The SLP is an additional funding for microenterprises under the Project to assist farmer organizations whose operations were affected by Typhoon Lando.”

For I-PLAN, eight out of 11 VCAs were completed and under review by the NPCO for the issuance of NOL 1. The VCA covers priority commodities for upland rice, white corn, dairy, citrus, onion, coffee and organic garlic. Data gathering and report writing are on going for the commodities of aramang, banana chips and pineapple.

“The provinces are in the process of updating their respective Provincial Commodity Investment Plans (PCIP) to cover additional investment for other commodities such as peanut and dairy for Cagayan, mungbean and mango for Isabela, banana chips for Quirino and peanut, mungbean and mango for Santiago City.”

Under the PRDP, RED Alviar sees deeper collaboration between the DA and local government units (LGUs). “The Project offers solution for the efficient implementation from the national level down to the barangay units,” he said.

“It is important to have a symbiotic partnership with LGUs, the private sector and various stakeholders in order to provide for climate-smart infrastructures, facilities, technologies and information that will help improve production and income among the farmers and fisherfolk.”

What is PRDP?

PRDP is a six-year rural development project worth over P27.5 billion which is funded through a loan from World Bank amounting to P20.56 billion, and P7 billion counterpart from the Government of the Philippines (GOP) and LGUs. It aims to develop the rural economy while increasing incomes of farmers and fisher folks. As to Project implementation, DA teams up with the local government units (LGU) and the private sector in providing key infrastructure and other facilities, technology and information that will raise incomes, productivity, and competitiveness in the countryside. (Jaycee Capalungan, RPCO2 InfoACE)