Bacolod City, Negros Occidental—While Typhoon Yolanda’s devastation on November 8, 2013 was worst felt in Leyte and Samar, the coastal town of Manapla in Negros Occidental also endured the brunt of the typhoon that fateful morning.

In fact, many provinces and towns in Visayas not highlighted in the news in the wake of the typhoon lost lives and livelihoods, greatly affecting fishermen who depend on marine resources for their incomes and daily food supply.

Lilibeth Hautea, whose husband lost his fishing boat during the onslaught of Yolanda, is still thankful that none of their family members got hurt while the typhoon batters their coastal Brgy. Tortosa in Manapla—where many of the residents depend their livelihood from the blue swimming crabs raised in the shorelines of the village.

Hope after the storm

Upon hearing that her husband will soon get a chance to use a brand new boat from their fisherfolk group Tortosa Pumpboat Association (TPA), through the assistance of the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP)—which will finance more than 60% of the association’s P500,000-worth project for the rehabilitation of fishing equipment, Aling Lilibeth could not contain her joy.

She said that aside from being brand-new, the boat will be bigger in size from the one they lost during the typhoon—giving them a chance to harvest bigger quantities of blue swimming crabs.

Through the DA-PRDP assistance, TPA Chairman Richard Aquino said that the fisherfolk’s association would be able to procure six fishing boats, which will be rented to fisher-members whose boats were damaged during Typhoon Yolanda. Members who will utilize the fishing boats will pay a weekly rent, and after a year they can buy the facility on a depreciated cost. He added that the money earned would be used to buy more fishing boats for the association.

TPA has 129 members at present who rely on blue swimming crab harvesting, selling of mangrove plantlets, and food processing, among others. The fisherfolk association is just one of the proponent groups in Visayas that will receive financing grant from DA-PRDP through its enterprise development or I-REAP component.

Holistic Rural Development

For the whole Visayas, the DA-PRDP—with financial assistance from the World Bank (WB)—will fund at least P2.99 billion worth of infrastructure and marketing support projects, of which a major chunk is focused on the rehabilitation of agri-based livelihoods and infrastructures damaged during typhoon Yolanda and 7.2-magnitude earthquake which struck many parts of the region in 2013.

The said amount will be shared through a counter-parting scheme between the DA-PRDP and the Local Government Unit (LGU), with the LGU providing 10% equity for the infrastructure sub-projects they propose, and 20% for the enterprise sub-projects.

Ensuring Transparency

PRDP Deputy Director Arnel De Mesa explained that tools like Value Chain Analysis (VCA) and Expanded Vulnerability and Suitability Assessment (E-VSA) will indicate where the project should be put in place.

A VCA is a tool used to assess the status of a particular industry, the linkages and interplay of the different players along the chain and identify upgrading strategies and interventions that could contribute to the development of the industry.

E-VSA, on the other hand, takes account of both agro-climatic data and socio-economic indicators (such as poverty magnitude, poverty incidence, number of farmers and fishers, size of production, area, etc.) as basis in targeting interventions and formulating strategies for investments in an area. Both tools will help identify whether a project is viable or not in a particular province or municipality.

Moreover, the Project will utilize geo-tagging as virtual monitoring tool especially for projects in remote and hard to reach areas.

Towards Efficiency, Sustainability

To ensure the efficient and speedy implementation of the sub-projects proposed under the DA-PRDP, the National Project Coordination Office (NPCO) and WB were in Negros Occidental last week to review pilot projects proposed by the province.

The team aims to address concerns and problems encountered by the LGUs, as well as ensure that the projects are properly planned and implemented.

WB Task Team Leader for PRDP Carolina Figueroa-Geron urged TPA members to utilize the project properly so they can still have a chance to propose for more sub-projects in the future.

She also lauded the natural resource management activities of the group such as maintaining a mangrove area along the shoreline, which in turn they use as alternate livelihood source. Members sell their mangrove plantlets at P5 minimum, depending on the maturity of the plant.

The members also testify that they do not harvest pregnant crabs, in spite the lure for higher price. Mr. Aquino said that there is an ordinance in Manapla that bans fisherfolk to catch pregnant blue crabs. While they can earn much more in selling these crabs, they rather put them back in the waters and let them propagate for more blue crabs in the future.

Building blocks

Aside from the I-REAP sub-projects, a major part of the DA-PRDP funds also finance infrastructure development aptly called the Intensified Building-Up of Infrastructure and Logistics for Development (I-BUILD). Visayas has proposed at least P2.1 billion worth of 35 farm-to-market roads under the component.

De Mesa also encouraged LGUs to undertake projects like irrigation that can support high value crops and potable water systems that can provide clean drinking water for rural communities.

For the enterprise sub-projects or I-REAP, Visayas has already proposed 14 sub-projects worth P86.5 million, a part of which is the Rehabilitation of Fishing Equipment for Blue Swimming Crab Enterprise for TPA.

Strong LGU and DA partnership

The DA and the WB also commended the provincial government of Negros Occidental for having established a Provincial Project Management and Implementation Unit (PPMIU) in July last year. So far, all provinces in Visayas have established their own PPMIU office, which is tasked to coordinate with the DA in undertaking and monitoring sub-projects under the PRDP.

GEF initiatives

A significant component of the PRDP is the natural resource management of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) sites identified in the country, of which three of the six sites are in Visayas including—Southeast Iloilo, Danajon Bank in Bohol, and Guian Coast in Eastern Samar.

Together with the P20.5 billion loan from the WB to support the DA-PRDP, P287 million was extended as grant to support natural resource management activities in the above-mentioned areas.

Through the GEF grant, communities will be trained and capacitated to conserve, protect and revive marine protected areas, fish sanctuaries, and other biodiversity areas.

PRDP is a six-year rural development project that aims to increase incomes or rural farmers while improving the country’s economy through agri-based initiatives. It is implemented by the DA, with funding from the World Bank, National Government, and LGUs. (Catherine Nanta, InfoACE)

WB Task Team Leader Carolina Geron (seated 4th from left), DA-PRDP National DPD Arnel De Mesa (seated 3rd from left), PSO Visayas Deputy Director Tess Solis (seated 2nd from left)and other WB and DA-PRDP staff visit the Provincial Project Management and Implementing Unit of Negros Occidental during the First WB Review Mission in Visayas from January 21-23, 2015.