VIRAC, CATANDUANES – The Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) on May 23 initiated the interagency convergence in the Bicol Region with the formal signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among key government and nongovernment agencies.

The MOU signing held in Virac, Catanduanes particularly aimed to formalize the interagency convergence for the implementation of the Catanduanes Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP). Specifically, this first PRDP-led MOU signing in the region intended to make Catanduanes as the country’s abaca and mangrove crab capital.

Coinciding with the province’s Abaca Festival, the activity convened the abaca and mangrove crab stakeholders and representatives of the provincial local government unit (LGU), national agencies, government financing institutions, and the academe to sign the MOU.

Among the participants were Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua, Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA) Executive Director Kennedy Costales, PhilFIDA Bicol Regional Director Mary Anne Molina, and Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation Bicol Regional Chairman Corazon Realubit. Landbank Virac Branch Manager Lorna Rojas, Department of Science and Technology Bicol Regional Executive Director Tomas Briñas, Catanduanes State University President Dr. Minerva Morales and Regional Agricultural, and Fishery Council (RAFC) Bicol Chairperson Alfredo Rillo were also present.

The MOU signing activity convened the abaca and mangrove crab stakeholders and representatives of the provincial local government unit (LGU), national agencies, government financing institutions, and the academe.
(Photo by Hermito Antonio Privaldos, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

The local and national level planning (I-PLAN) component of the PRDP South Luzon Project Support Office (PSO) and the PRDP Bicol headed by Rey Lara and Aloha Gigi Bañaria, respectively, also participated in the MOU signing.

Other agencies represented during the MOU signing were the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Trade and Industry, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

“This is a model for good governance,” Lara underscored. “Convergence is the theme of the national government. National agencies will have to converge at one direction in providing support services to vulnerable communities and societies,” he said.

Lara added, “This [convergence] will harmonize and mainstream the development efforts of the national government agencies and financing institutions, the academe, and the Agricultural and Fishery Councils to help support the implementation of the abaca and mangrove crab provincial investment plan of Catanduanes.”

“I hope that through this Memorandum of Understanding, we’ll be able to develop more projects for the improvement of abaca and mangrove crabs in Catanduanes. Also, that this will be a way for us to improve our projects and plans for the preservation and the development of abaca and mangrove crabs, which are important treasures of this province,” Governor Cua said.

According to Bañaria, in terms of institutionalization of PCIPs as a strategic plan for convergence, the PRDP Bicol I-PLAN generated an initial funding commitment worth approximately P99.21 million from 2016 to 2018 based on the PCIP of Catanduanes for abaca.

She announced that as of May 5, 2017, Catanduanes has P296.58 million-worth of infrastructure development (I-BUILD) and enterprise development (I-REAP) subprojects under PRDP. From that amount, P264.60 million is allotted for I-BUILD subprojects. The fund allocation includes around P6 million for the warehouse building in Virac, P180.92 million proposed farm-to-market (FMR) subprojects in Virac and Caramoran, and P77.68 million for other Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB)-approved subprojects in Virac, Bato, and Panganiban.

In addition, the province has a total of P31.98-million worth of I-REAP subprojects. About P22.52 million of that amount will go to the I-REAP subprojects for abaca, rice, and broiler in Virac, Gigmoto, and Pandan, respectively. The remaining P9.46 million is allotted for the RPAB-approved “Mangrove Crab Production and Marketing Enterprise” subproject in Panganiban.

Lara elaborated that the interagency convergence will broaden more catalytic investments that will support the development of abaca and mangrove crab of the province. According to him, the provision of relevant infrastructure projects, technologies, information, and support services will raise the income of abaca farmers and mangrove crab growers.

He furthered that the activity will help establish good synergy with institutions in expanding opportunities for the abaca and mangrove crab in the province and contribute to the overall focus of the government’s thrust to address the gap of agricultural and fishery value chain through inclusive growth of the sector.

Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua and PRDP Bicol I-PLAN Component Head Aloha Gigi Bañaria (seated, center), lead the representatives of national agencies, government financing institutions, and the academe sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for an interagency convergence to institutionalize support for the implementation of the Catanduanes PCIP. (Photo by Hermito Antonio Privaldos, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

Bañaria underscored that PRDP envisions its enhanced planning processes to be mainstreamed into the planning and budgeting system of the Department of Agriculture (DA), its banner programs, attached agencies and partners even after the Project’s completion.

RAFC Bicol Chairperson Rillo, on the other hand, urged the abaca and mangrove crab industry players to organize and endorse to the RAFC an Abaca and Mangrove Crab Commodity Board that will consolidate the issues and concerns besetting the industries. This will allow the concerned agencies to listen to the voice of the abaca farmers and mangrove crab fisherfolk as well as provide the necessary interventions to boost their commodities.

The PCIP is a three-year rolling consensus plan between the DA and LGUs based on the value chain analyses of provincial priority commodities conducted with various the participation of stakeholders.

PRDP is a six-year development project funded by a P20.50-billion worth of loan from the World Bank with counterparts from the national and local government and a grant from the Global Environment Facility amounting to P287 million. The Project is designed to support smallholder farmers and fisherfolk to boost their marketable surpluses and improve their access to markets by investing in an inclusive, value chain-oriented and climate-resilient agri-fishery sector. ### (Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)