Since 2014, the Philippine Rural Development Project has been impacting the lives of farmers and fisherfolk throughout rural communities in the country.

The successful implementation of their subprojects and interventions aimed at improving production and increasing the incomes of their beneficiaries was achieved through market-driven and science-based approaches which have been established in PRDP.

In 2021, as a seeming nod to the effectiveness of PRDP’s processes, the Department of Agriculture (DA) issued Memo No. 75 Series of 2021 which outlined the mainstreaming of PRDP innovations into the various programs of the Department. In it ten (10) PRDP tools and innovations were identified for integration into the DA’s flagship programs and projects, namely:

• Operation Manual for Infrastructure Support in Partnership with LGUs;
• Climate proofed technical planning parameters for rural infrastructure in keeping with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) guidelines;
• Operation Planning and Budgeting Guidelines requiring the use of PCIPs as the platform for planning and budgeting;
• Enhanced Vulnerability and Suitability Analysis (EVSA) as the tool for identifying the climatic suitability of cropping areas according to commodity;
• Value Chain Analysis (VCA) as the tool for identifying the interventions required to strengthen the value chain for commodities;
• Methodology for Business Planning in support to Proponent Group Enterprise development;
• Geo-mapping to enhance the monitoring, governance and quality of investments supported by the DA;
• Social and Environmental Safeguards;
• Grievance/Citizen Monitoring and Feedback System; and
• Rural Road Network Strategic Overlay (IROAD) as the basis for planning budgeting and construction of the country’s rural road network in partnership with Local Government Units (LGUs) and DPWH.

PRDP PSO Mindanao Planning Specialist Elden Karl Requilme leading the Mainstreaming of PRDP Tools to DA Regular Operations Workshop at the Regional Project Coordinating 12.

Following the marching orders from the DA and the recommendations from the World Bank, PRDP Mindanao continues to engage the different regional field offices as well as local government units and other stakeholders in knowledge sharing in an effort to mainstream the best practices by the Project.

Speaking at a meeting with PRDP Mindanao’s IPLAN component and provincial planners of Davao del Sur and Davao Occidental, DA XI Regional Executive Director and PRDP Mindanao Project Director Abel James I. Monteagudo said that the mainstreaming of PRDP processes to DA was always envisioned by the Department’s secretaries through the years because of their effectiveness.

DA XI Regional Executive Director and PRDP Mindanao Project Director Abel James I. Monteagudo (Photo by Agri Info Davao)

“Their good practices have led to the successful implementation of various enterprise and infrastructure projects funded under PRDP,” Monteagudo said in reference to the Project’s tools and processes.

In Mindanao, the Value Chain Analysis (VCA) and Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) have figured prominently among the majority of LGUs as reference guides for investment planning for local infrastructure and enterprise development. There are currently 34 approved VCAs and 33 CIPs throughout Mindanao which have resulted in over P13 billion worth of interventions under PRDP and a further P30 billion in leveraged funds from non-PRDP investments.  All-in-all, PRDP has already served a total of 861,794 beneficiaries and completed 254 subprojects in Mindanao.

Just recently, the DA issued Memorandum 62 Series of 2022 which directed all bureau directors, heads of attached corporations, directors of banner programs and special programs, and all regional executive directors towards the integration of PRDP processes in the planning and implementation of DA programs. The directive emphasizes the importance of using the VCA and PCIP as the basis and reference in the preparation of plans and programs of the Department and outlines the steps to be taken towards the institutionalization of PRDP learnings in the DA system.

While the basic measure of the PRDP’s performance is the physical and financial progress of their subprojects, the Project’s success can also be reflected in the innovations and tools that have been developed and used in the course of its implementation and how these have made an impact on agricultural governance policy. As PRDP continues to pave the way for the strategic and catalytic implementation of more subprojects, the hope is that the learnings and innovations by the Project can be the foundation upon which a more efficient and effective agri-fisheries sector can be built upon. (Joseph John Palarca, DVM | PSO Mindanao)