NUEVA ECIJA – The Department of Agriculture -Philippine Rural Development Project (DA- PRDP) held a learning exchange to some delegates from the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) headed by Director General Thiphavong Ounla to grasp the use of Applied Geotagging Technology (AGT) on February 18, 2020, here.

Pioneered by DA-PRDP, the AGT is a breakthrough innovation on the use of geo-tagging that aims to improve transparency in the government infrastructure particularly in remote areas with the use of Global Positioning System (GPS).

Director General Ounla conveyed that the purpose of their visit is to likewise familiarize with the process of PRDP in preparation to their project plan that aims toward food security and productivity in their country.

With this, DA Regional Director Crispulo G. Bautista Jr. and PRDP Project Support Office (PSO) Luzon A Deputy Project Director Elma Mananes together with the officers and technical staff of the National Project Coordination Office (NPCO), PSO, Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO 3) and the Provincial Project Management Implementing Unit (PPMIU) of Nueva Ecija led the site visit with hands-on geotagging exercises that allowed the delegates to experience data collection by documenting and observing on-going subproject implementation.

Subprojects visited by the Lao delegates are the on-going construction of the P37 million Poblacion Sur-La Torre-Bantug-Mamandil Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) in Talavera and the P190 million cold storage in Palayan City.

According to Mananes, delegates were also able to interact with the DA- PRDP partner implementers – local government units, contractors and farm-beneficiaries during the site visit to grip a better understanding on the process of project implementation.

“The World Bank recommended the visit to the Philippines to observe and exchange ideas on the implementation of PRDP subprojects,” she added.

Lastly, Mananes took the opportunity to thank the local chief executives of Talavera Nerivi Santos Martinez and Palacity City Adrianne Mae J. Cuevas in hosting the activities that showcased some of the best practices of PRDP  that in return the Lao delegates can emulate in their country. (Ma. Reina Len Luna, RPCO3 InfoACE)