The Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) Bicol conducted a series of activities to prepare its selected Proponent Groups (PGs) in Sto. Domingo, Albay, for possible funding under its I-REAP Component on September 9, 2021.

RPCO Bicol I-REAP Business Development Officer Victoria Eugene Florece, together with Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Rhodelia Remot, Social and Environmental Safeguards Officer Teresita Blanqueza, and Rural Infrastructure Engineer Eliseo Buella Jr., met with the members of the Fidel Surtida Women’s Organization to assess the feasibility of their proposed Native Chicken and Poultry Production Enterprise. As part of the DA-PRDP’s process, the team oriented the group about the Project, and consulted the particulars of the proposed I-REAP subproject.

According to Blanqueza, this is to ensure transparency and promote accountability before the subproject approval and implementation.

Blanqueza facilitated the Social Inclusiveness Scoring System for PGs seeking I-REAP funding, while Florece and Remot led the Capability Assessment and PG Member Individual Profiling, respectively.

Capability Assessment, PG Member Individual Profiling and Social Inclusiveness Scoring System are some of the DA-PRDP’s procedures, activities, and tools to guarantee the social acceptability, economic and environmental soundness, and sustainability of its I-REAP-funded enterprises, investments and support facilities.

The team also conducted an ocular inspection of the 1.9-hectare area in Barangay Fidel Surtida, where the civil works for the proposed I-REAP subproject will be constructed.

Municipal Agriculturist Dino Gregorio and the barangay officials of Fidel Surtida participated in the consultation meeting. The team will continue to provide technical assistance to the local government unit and the PG selected, in terms of business modelling and business planning, as pre-requisites for the Regional Project Advisory Board’s (RPAB) approval and issuance of the No Objection Letter from the DA PRDP National Project Coordination Office (NPCO) within the year.

The PhP5.6 million-worth proposed Native Chicken and Poultry Production Enterprise in Sto. Domingo, Albay is one of the six pipelined I-REAP subprojects in the region to be funded under the second additional financing. As of August 20, 2021, RPCO V has completed 25 I-REAP subprojects regionwide worth a total of PhP104 million. These enterprise subprojects are all operational and are currently benefitting 30 proponent groups and 16,289 farmers and fisherfolk.

I-REAP is one of the four components of the DA PRDP designed to strengthen and develop viable agri-fishery based enterprises. It also aims to boost the productivity and marketability of agri-fishery products, increase the income of farm and fishery households by engaging them in value-adding activities, and improve the conservation and protection of identified enterprises’ natural resource base by providing alternative livelihood activities and support facilities. (Annielyn L. Baleza, DA RAFIS V/PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)