Disaster-preparedness. Mayon Volcano. Chili ice cream. These are on top of the things that make Albay one of the most famous provinces in the Philippines. But newly elected Albay Governor Al Francis C. Bichara wants to make it popular for something more.

In a Management Meeting with Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) South Luzon Director Shandy M. Hubilla on October 20, 2016, Bichara shared his vision to invest in the province’s agri-fishery sector and upgrade the lives of Albayano farmers while making Albay known for emerging commodities. Hubilla told the Governor that the PRDP is geared towards the same direction as the Project mainly focuses on augmenting farmers’ income and developing an inclusive, climate-smart, and value chain-oriented agriculture and fishery sector in targeted project areas.

Since 2014, Albay has been one of the strong provincial partners of PRDP. Under the Project’s local and national level planning (I-PLAN) component, four commodities in the province namely coco geonets, sweet potato, pili, and abaca already have an approved value chain analysis (VCA) while writing of VCA reports for seaweeds, organic rice, dairy cattle and laing is still on-going.

Currently, Albay has one infrastructure development (I-BUILD) sub-project–the P197-million worth Rehabilitation/Improvement of Pistola-Tablon FMR w/ 3 Units Bridges in Oas, Albay. The province also has two proposed other infrastructure sub-projects: the P2.75 million-worth Construction of Multi-purpose Drying Pavement and the Construction of 15 units Palay Shed amounting to P20.40 million.

In addition, Albay served as the pilot province for the Project’s enterprise development (I-REAP) component through the P7.68-million-worth Albay Coco Geonets Manufacturing Enterprise being managed by the Tunay Tapat Lahing Pilipino Cooperative (TTLPC) in Libon, Albay. The province also has one approved microenterprise: the “Enhancing Farm Capacity and Adoption of Nutrition Technology for Goat Production” with a total project cost worth P1.28 million.

Hubilla encouraged the Albay governor to support the on-going and future sub-projects of the province under PRDP by providing technical guidance on prevailing  issues and concerns such as lack of manpower, office, and other resources necessary to deliver an effective and efficient work performance.

In response, Bichara directed his current Provincial Project Management and Implementing Unit (PMMU) headed by Engr. Macario M. Pavia to fast track the  procurement process and follow the PRDP management’s timetable for each sub-project. He also ordered the hiring of 23 technical staff to work on proposals for the targeted P1 billion sub-projects under PRDP in 2017.

Albay’s economy is highly dependent on agriculture. About 39,433 farmers or 50 percent of the farmers in the province are engaged in coconut production while there are 4,785 sweet potato farmers in the province with a total area of 1,674.90 hectares. In 2014, Albay garnered the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Outstanding Province Agri-Pinoy Rice Achiever Award for its 93.7 percent rice sufficiency record.

Albay has been a recipient of several national and international awards including a Gawad Kalasag Hall of Fame niche from the National Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) and two Galing Pook Awards. The province is also a recipient of the Department of Interior and Local Government’s Gawad Pamana ng Lahi Award as best province for three consecutive years.

DA-PRDP is a six-year project being implemented by the DA that aims to raise farmers’ income and establish an inclusive, market-oriented and climate-resilient agri-fishery sector in targeted project areas in the countryside. The Project partners with local government units in providing facilities, infrastructure, and technology to rural folks nationwide. (Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)