Nowadays many of the farmers and fisherfolk in the Municipality of Jose Panganiban in Camarines Norte prefer to venture into mining because it offers immediate income for their subsistence. This is the observation of Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator (MPDC) Raymund Carranceja. Thus, when local officials here heard about the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), they saw an opportunity to revive agricultural production in their municipality.

The town is divided into two districts. According to Carranceja, the municipality’s East district consists of 13 barangays with commercial, industrial and residential areas, while the West district, which is considered as the food basket of the municipality, consists of 14 barangays. Agricultural production in the West district, however, is limited due to the lack of infrastructure support.

“Sa tulong ng PRDP, layunin namin na palakasin ang agricultural production,” Carranceja said. He mentioned that this year, the Municipality of Jose Panganiban will start its coal power plant operation, establish the Larap Airport, and develop its 30-hectare economic zone under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). The local government unit (LGU) eyes the said commercial and industrial areas as sure markets of farm produce from the West district.

Jose Panganiban Vice Mayor Ariel Non shares the local officials’ vision of reviving the agri-fishery sector in the municipality through PRDP interventions. (Photo by Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

The municipality plans to develop some P200 million-worth farm-to-market roads (FMRs) through the funding assistance of PRDP. The LGU believes that the concreting of the rural roads in the municipality’s West district will eliminate the constraints affecting agricultural productivity and profitability. It will also promote sustainability in the area as it will help reduce importation of agricultural products.

Carranceja added that the proposed FMRs will link the rural communities to the Maharlika Highway for better accessibility to the market. It will also boost tourism in the area as Jose Panganiban boasts of pristine beach resorts and is located near the famous Black Nazarene of Capalonga, Camarines Norte.

“The only way to sustain our economy ay maibalik ang agrikultura sa Jose Panganiban,” said Vice Mayor Ariel Non.

During the PRDP orientation conducted in the municipality on January 24, 2017, PRDP South Luzon Project Support Office (PSO) Director Shandy Hubilla assured the municipality’s local officials and staff of the Project team’s assistance.

“What PRDP would like to offer to you is to leverage the limited resources you have. If you want a P100 million FMR, we will only require P10 million as counterpart. We are here to guide you,” he added.

PRDP South Luzon PSO Director Shandy Hubilla assures the Local Government Unit of Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte of the Project’s support to the LGU’s vision of reviving the agri-fishery sector in the municipality during the PRDP Orientation held on January 24, 2017. (Photo by Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

PRDP-Bicol Deputy Project Director Adelina Losa provided an overview of the Project with emphasis on the cost sharing for infrastructure (I-BUILD) and (I-REAP) enterprise development subprojects. She also shared some updates regarding the approved commodity investment plans of Camarines Norte from which Jose Panganiban should base its proposals for PRDP interventions. Meanwhile, PRDP-Bicol RPCO I-BUILD Component Head Arnie Ilan discussed the requirements for I-BUILD sub-projects as well as its implementation process. Moreover, PRDP South Luzon PSO Compliance Officer Michael Gregory Vargas and Social and Environmental Safeguards (SES) Officer Liwayway Violeta oriented the participants on the project implementation structure and next steps in PRDP engagement as well as SES requirements, respectively.

Camarines Norte has two approved I-BUILD subprojects with an aggregate amount of P567.4 million. The province also has two approved I-REAP subprojects namely the P4.2 million-worth Coco Geonet Production Project in Sta. Elena and the P19.9 million-worth Camarines Norte Pineapple Trading and Processing Project in Labo. It has updated and approved value chain analyses (VCAs) and Provincial Commodity Investment Plans (PCIPs) for coco geonets and pineapple and is working on the approval of its VCA for smoked fish.

PRDP-Bicol Deputy Project Director Adelina Losa provides an overview of the Project during the PRDP Orientation with the Jose Panganiban MLGU held on January 24, 2017. (Photo by Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

Municipal LGUs can now participate in PRDP by submitting a letter of interest to the Project through the concerned DA regional field unit. DA-PRDP and the LGU officially starts its partnership through a Memorandum of Agreement. PRDP interventions and proposed subprojects for PRDP-funding will be based on science-based tools such as the VCAs and PCIPs. PRDP also provides participating LGUs with capacity-building trainings on project requirements preparation.

With a total project cost of P27.5 billion derived from a World Bank loan, PRDP is a six-year project being implemented by the Department of Agriculture designed to solve three major problems besetting rural areas namely low farm income, poor technology and communication, and limited access to market information and training. ### (Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)