There is more to the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) than just constructing infrastructures and supporting livelihood investments. DA-PRDP also boasts the use of innovative and science-based  tools which could  be freely adapted by other government offices for development planning and transparency.

DA Regional Field Office 8 Executive Director Wilson A. Cerbito highly encourages the use of such tools saying, “These tools are there and are free. We only need to learn how to use them.”

He also noted the use of geotagging as an effective tool applied during the conduct of validation, planning, monitoring and evaluation.

“From its popular use under the PRDP, we are now using the technology for our other priority programs and projects in the DA. We take pride in being instrumental for the promotion of the technology in the region. We have already conducted several training on geotagging, and we are glad that some of our local government units (LGUs) are already using the technology,” he said.

Meanwhile, planners and other technical personnel from different LGUs that availed of the PRDP may have gained insights from its much- improved planning methodologies for agriculture and fishery sector.

“They were capacitated in crafting their Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) as well as feasibility studies which are needed as they push for their proposed subprojects for funding under the PRDP,” the DA-8 Chief disclosed.

A PCIP is a strategic three-year plan containing possible interventions to be undertaken by a province for its priority commodities in support of the region’s Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Plan (AFMP).  As part of the project policies, LGUs should first prepare PCIPs before any subproject proposal is set into motion.

The PCIP is based on another tool utilized in the project called Value Chain Analysis (VCA). This is used to assess the status and the linkages and interplay of the different value-chain players of a particular industry. The results of the assessment will then be used to identify appropriate strategies and interventions that will contribute to the industry’s development and competitiveness.

“We cannot formulate our PCIP without the VCA. This way, the PRDP assures that all subprojects implemented under the project are based on the actual needs for the development of the commodity in particular areas, and will address constraints in the value chain,” he continued.

Aside from the PCIP and VCA, LGUs participating in the PRDP could also be capacitated to utilize the Expanded-Vulnerability Assessment Tool (EVSA). It is an online tool which takes into account both agro-climatic data, and socio-economic indicators such as the poverty level, number of farmers and fishers and size of production area, among others, as basis in targeting interventions and formulating strategies for investments.

“We want to help our LGU partners advance in attaining their development objectives not only by way of supporting their proposed subprojects, but also through capacity enhancement opportunities in terms of planning and implementing agri-fishery subprojects. By the end of the project, we want its good practices, innovations and useful tools adopted in our government processes particularly among LGUs,” Cerbito ended. (Rodel G. Macapañas, InfoACE, RPCO 7)