Upscale Camarines Norte’s Queen “Formosa” pineapple to the next level to empower more cooperatives and farmers’ organizations. This is the ultimate goal of Labo Progressive Multi Purpose Cooperative (LPMPC), the proponent group of the Pineapple Trading and Processing Project in Labo, Camarines Norte, the province’s second enterprise development (I-REAP) sub-project.

LPMPC is one step closer to this goal as the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) South Luzon and Bicol’s procurement unit conducted the Pre-Procurement Conference for the P26.67 million-worth Camarines Norte Pineapple Trading and Processing Project. The conference held at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Hall in Daet, Camarines Norte kicks off the procurement process for goods and works required for the enterprise sub-project’s issuance of No Objection Letter 2 (NOL 2) prior to full blast operation.

PRDP South Luzon Procurement Officer King Eliser B. Papango orients the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) members, secretariat and technical working group, as well as the provincial project partners and proponent group staff about the procurement methods for I-REAP sub-projects. (Photo by Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

King Eliser B. Papango, PRDP South Luzon procurement officer, oriented the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) members, secretariat and technical working group, as well as the provincial project partners and proponent group staff about the I-REAP procurement guidelines. Meanwhile, PRDP South Luzon Procurement Specialist Maria Rhoda Lavinia D. Mendoza provided a comprehensive discussion on the Harmonized Philippine Bidding Documents for Works and Bid Evaluation Report (BER) review process and required attachments. Furthermore, the procurement team presented a sample BER for goods and finalized the procurement timelines.

“Para hindi matagalan ang pag-issue ng award, make sure na kumpleto ang attachments,” Mendoza advised. The procurement team also cautioned them against common causes of rebidding which include improper conduct of evaluation during bid opening, inconsistency of PhilGEPS and newspaper publication posting, non-PhilGEPS registered suppliers, incomplete supporting documents and lack of interested bidders.

Moreover, PRDP South Luzon Director Shandy M. Hubilla assured the provincial project partners that the management will provide the necessary assistance to avoid further delays and fast track the NOL 2 issuance before the end of October 2016.

The Pre-procurement Conference held at the Camarines Norte Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Hall in Daet, Camarines Norte kicks off the procurement process for goods and works for the P26.67 million-worth Camarines Norte Pineapple Trading and Processing Project. (Photo by Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

The Pineapple Trading and Processing Project received its No Objection Letter 1 on May 6, 2016. The said I-REAP sub-project is designed to upgrade the trading of fresh pineapple fruits and upscale the LPMPC pineapple juice production. Its two main products will be fresh pineapple fruit and pineapple juice in their pure or undiluted form.

The business enterprise, to be implemented under PRDP’s I-REAP component, is projected to impact the lives of 9,140 direct beneficiaries. On its first year of implementation, 72 farmer owners are projected to raise their income from P4,800 monthly to P8,159.07 through the project. The project will also provide an incentive markup worth P15,368.89 and about P20,000 from leaves used in pineapple fiber production. This constitutes P40,308.89 increase in pineapple farmers’ income per cropping.

This project is envisioned to provide pineapple farmer-members with an annual average dividend sharing worth P487.10. The enterprise will also benefit non-cooperative members through the additional P1 markup and P0.25 per year for each piece of fresh pineapple fruit including batterball-sized pineapples. Furthermore, the project is expected to create additional employment and livelihood opportunities.

I-REAP is one of PRDP’s four major components designed to strengthen and develop viable agri-fishery based enterprises to boost the livelihood of farmers and fisherfolk in targeted project areas nationwide. ### (Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)