With the goal of creating regional commodity hubs to focus large scale investments in Mindanao, PRDP PSO Mindanao gathered together regional enterprise and investment planning teams in Davao City to identify priority commodities for Region 11, 12 & 13.

Guided by PRDP Mindanao’s Regional Project Coordination Offices, provincial and city project management and implementation officers along with Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation Program (F2C2) Focal representatives sat down to identify the top commodities in their respective provinces and cities leveraging on the existing data from local government units (LGUs). At the end of the planning sessions, coconut, seaweed, and rubber as the priority commodities for Region 13; coffee, coconut, and rubber were chosen for Region 12; while Region 11 chose coconut, cacao, cardava, and swine.

To enrich the discussion, private sector partners, including the Bureau of Investment, German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the USAID Cooperative Development Program, also participated in the meetings to lend their perspectives.

Beyond the identification of commodities and the formulation of business model plans, the discussions emphasized the necessity of considering the capacity of PRDP Mindanao’s proponent groups underscoring the importance of cascading benefits to beneficiaries to ensure that they not only receive financial support but also gain access to new technologies and machineries.

Promoting co-management was recognized as crucial, given the wide-ranging nature of clustering initiatives. Lastly, attention was directed toward the product form of the commodities, emphasizing the need for careful consideration in this aspect.

The second batch of the convergence workshop will be joined by Region 9, Region 10, and BARMM on January 18-19, 2024. (Joy Montecalvo)