“Translate enthusiasm into projects,” this was emphasized by the PRDP Bicol Deputy Project Director and I-REAP Component Head Adelina Losa during the 2017 Action Planning and Implementation Workshop held at the Department of Agriculture Library, San Agustin, Pili, Camarines Sur.

Representatives from the Provincial Project Management and Implementation Unit (PPMIU) of Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Masbate, Albay, Catanduanes and the City Project Management and Implementation Unit (CPMIU) of Naga City attended the said workshop, where they presented their provinces’ priority commodities, action plans for 2017 and the provincial performance measures.

As of November 30, 2016, the PRDP Bicol I-PLAN has the highest number of submitted approved and operational Value Chain Analysis (VCA) among the other regions in the South Luzon Cluster. Rated Moderately Satisfactory (MS) by the World Bank, I-PLAN Bicol is more encouraged and challenged to craft quality VCAs that would help empower the farmers and fisher folk.

Transform enthusiasm into projects. PRDP Bicol RPCO Deputy Project Director Adelina Losa encourages the P/CPMIUs to translate VCAs into subprojects during the 2017 Action Planning and Implementation Workshop held at the DA Library, Pili, Camarines Sur. (Photo by: Michelle Angela G. Alfigura, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

The Bicol Region has 11 ongoing approved VCAs for Abaca, pili, coco geonets, sweet potato, goat, charcoal, coco sugar, cassava, pineapple, crablet and seaweeds.

PRDP applies the value chain approach to promote partnerships in improving the overall competitiveness of the value chains. VCA is the planning tool used by DA-PRDP for agricultural commodities which are prioritized according to the sustainability, market potential, impact on the poor, and involvement of farmer-stakeholders. The VCA crafted on a certain commodity will help identify the investments and opportunities that will be incorporated in the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP).

I-PLAN Component Head Aloha Gigi Banaria said, “Kailangan busisiin natin ang pagawa ng mga VCA, dapat makita natin kung ano pa ang kulang na intervention na kinakailangan ng ating mga stakeholders (We should be meticulous in crafting our VCAs, interventions that are needed by our stakeholders must be determined).”

The PRDP Bicol I-PLAN team and the P/CPMIUs. The participants of the workshop strike a pose after the presentation of the PCIP and catch-up plan of the provinces. (Photo by: Michelle Angela G. Alfigura, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

Bicol I-PLAN encourages the P/CPMIU to produce VCAs of good quality. VCAs are not just plans, but projects to be implemented under the PRDP infrastructure development (I-BUILD) and enterprise development (I-REAP) components to help attain the PRDP’s development objectives of gaining at least 5% increase in annual real farm incomes of PRDP household and beneficiaries, 7% increase in value of annual marketed output and 20% increase in the number or farmers and fishers with improved access to DA services.

The output of the P/CPMIU will be presented to the invited DA partner agencies to help mainstream the priority commodities of the provinces and to enjoin and align the resources of DA and its partners in support of the commodity value chains and consolidated PCIPs for the priority commodities. ### (Michelle Angela G. Alfigura, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)