DAET, CAMARINES NORTE – “Hindi po magagawa ng provincial government o ng Department of Agriculture itong PCIP interventions nang kami lang. Kailangan namin ang lahat ng stakeholders na sana may intervention din na ginagawa para matulungan natin yung mga farmers and fisherfolk (The provincial government nor the Department of Agriculture cannot accomplish all of the PCIP interventions on our own. We need the interventions of other stakeholders in helping our farmers and fisherfolk).” This was the appeal of Camarines Norte Provincial Agriculturist Almirante Abad to partner agencies for the development of the province’s commodity investment plans (PCIP) on coco geonets and pineapple.

In a Convergence Assessment and Coordination Meeting for Camarines Norte held on March 12, this municipality, the Provincial Project Management and Implementation Unit (PPMIU) gathered updates about agencies’ contributions to the PCIPs after the Interagency Convergence Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing on November 23, 2017. The agencies and institutions represented during the meeting were the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Irrigation Authority (NIA), Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Camarines Norte State College (CNSC).

According to PRDP-Bicol Local and National Level Planning Component (I-PLAN) Planning Specialist Mary Grace Rodriguez, the PRDP is the only Project that reviews the MOU and accounts each agency’s commitments and pledges in support to the PCIPs.  She also emphasized the need for agencies to continuously oversee the status of interventions.

Rodriguez said that copies of the PCIPs were sent to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to encourage concerned agencies to adopt necessary interventions in the FY 2019 plan and budget proposal.

Marilou Belgado of DOST assured the PPMIU-Camarines Norte of the agency’s available assistance on laboratory tests or shelf-life analysis, packaging and labelling for processors, and technology training on pineapple processing. Meanwhile, proponent groups may also avail of technology and processing equipment under the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program. Elmer Madolid of PCA, on the other hand, reported that in 2017, the agency has already delivered 10 decorticating machines to farmer organizations in Sta. Elena, San Lorenzo Ruiz, Talisay, Capalonga, Labo, San Vicente and Mercedes. Twining and weaving machines as well as carving and sieving machines will be delivered in 2018.

Also, PCA delivered 33,000 cacao seedlings and 55 bags of corn to coconut farmers for intercropping. In 2017, PCA conducted 16 capability trainings for 431 coconut farmers and for 2018, PCA’s replanting program called Participatory Coconut Planting Project is ongoing. Moreover, PCA provided 10 heads of carabao and cow to its proponent group.

Edwin Asiao and Wilson Nawasa of the NIA confirmed that the agency has proposed the use of coco geonets as slope protection material for the CY 2018 to 2019 budget. In 2018, DTI sponsored a seminar on costing and pricing for pineapple food processors and other players in the value chain. She also mentioned that the Labo Progressive Multi-Purpose Cooperative qualified in the DTI’s Go Lokal! program, a Filipino concept store for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in malls nationwide.

Rodriguez shared that since 2017, the DA has provided interventions with an aggregate amount of P21.35 million to support the coco geonets and pineapple of Camarines Norte. These interventions include the distribution of P4.68 million-worth pineapple suckers and 688 bags of organic and inorganic fertilizers amounting to P517,800. In 2017, DA has also conducted two trainings in pineapple and produced printed information, education, and communication (IEC) materials. Meanwhile, a P3.8 million-worth Research and Development project on “Optimization of Planting Density Regulation for Queen Pineapple in Intercropped System” funded by Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) is on-going. This is in collaboration with the Visayas State University and the Camarines Norte State College.

“Ang ganda-ganda po ng inyong nireport na talagang makaka-contribute to the development of these two commodities (What you reported were good and will surely contribute to the development of these two commodities),” PPMIU-Camarines Norte I-PLAN Component Head Thelma Bardon said as she thanked the agency representatives for their support.

Bardon also sought their support in reestablishing Camarines Norte as a top exporter of pineapple, particularly in the standardization of export activities and in promoting research and quality control. She hopes that through the convergence, the Provincial Council would pass an appropriation ordinance for the development of said commodities.

PRDP has funded nine infrastructure development (I-BUILD) subprojects including farm-to-market roads and civil works of enterprise with a total amount of P836.43 million and two ongoing I-REAP subprojects worth P19.22 million in Camarines Norte.

The Convergence Assessment and Coordination Meeting for Camarines Norte was the fourth of a series of similar meetings conducted by the PRDP-Bicol I-PLAN. ### (Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP Bicol RPCO InfoACE Unit)

Provincial Agriculturist and PRDP I-REAP Component Head Almirante Abad calls for the interagency convergence team’s support for the development of coco geonets and pineapple in Camarines Norte during the Convergence Assessment and Coordination Meeting for Camarines Norte. (Photo by Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-RAFIS V)

RPCO 5 I-PLAN Planning Specialist (seated, 1st from left), PPMIU I-PLAN Head Thelma Bardon (seated, 2nd from left) and I-REAP Component Head Almirante Abad (seated, 3rd from left) pose for a photo with the representatives of various funding agencies supportive to the PCIPS for coco geonets and pineapple. (Photo by Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-RAFIS V)