The Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) is a very important guide of the province in coming up with interventions to improve a prioritized commodity’s industry. It contains identified key gaps, opportunities, and interventions for the identified priority commodities. There are ten prioritized commodities in Ilocos Region which include:  mango, peanut, onion, goat, garlic, bangus, tomato, mungbean, coffee, and dragon fruit.

Initially, the PCIP was thought to be used solely for the purpose of funding Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) subprojects. However, the PCIP and other PRDP science-based tools are aimed to be utilized as major planning tools by the Local Government Units (LGUs) and other government agencies and in effect, improving the delivery of public services.

To achieve this goal, the IPLAN Component of Region 1 together with the Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, and La Union Provincial Project Management and Implementation Units (PPMIUs) conducted successive PCIP Mainstreaming activities on July 20, 25 and August 3-4, 2017.

Various government agencies such as the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and DA attached agencies like the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Provincial Veterinary Office (PVet), and Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) participated in the mainstreaming activities.   Department Heads of the respective Ilocos Provinces also attended the mainstreaming activities which were facilitated by Ms. Karen Castro of the National Economic Development Activity in Region 1 and the IPLAN Component.

During the mainstreaming activities, the respective PCIPs and the Provincial Development Investment Plans (PDIP) of the Ilocos Provinces were presented. Interventions which can be funded by the Provinces were incorporated into the PDIP, while the various government agencies identified interventions which they can fund, provide or cover in the regular conduct of their activities.  The NIA, for instance, committed to look into the proposed irrigation facilities in the PCIP for possible funding based on their approved budget.

Presenting the PCIP to various government agencies does not only aim to solicit funding for the Project’s identified interventions, but also to synchronize government assistance and services to the farmers.

At present, more than P630-million subprojects listed in the PCIPs of the Ilocos Provinces are funded outside PRDP. After the mainstreaming activities, the PCIP-identified subprojects funded outside the PRDP are expected to increase. ### (Dessa U. Estrada and Vida V. Cacal, RPCO 1 InfoACE Unit)