Six enterprise subprojects under the I-REAP component of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) were evaluated, monitored and mentored by the project’s consultants in Cotabato on February 7-10, 2023.

The four-day activity was conducted to evaluate the operations and the activities undertaken by the farmers’ groups leading the implementation of PRDP’s enterprise subprojects. The activity also enabled the Project’s consultants to check on the financial status of each enterprise.

The six subprojects visited by the joint Project Support Office Mindanao and Regional Project Coordinating Office XII team were the following: “Rubber Sheet Processing and Marketing” in Aleosan; “Production, Processing and Marketing of Organic Palay” in Midsayap; “Consolidation, Processing and Marketing of Copra” in Pigcawayan; “Organic Palay Production Expansion, Processing and Marketing” in Tulunan; “Enhancement Consolidation and Marketing of Fresh Lakatan Bananas” in Kidapawan; and, the “Dried Cacao Beans Production and Marketing” in Antipas.

During the activity, the farmer groups listed some of the challenges they encountered in the course of their subproject implementation which included the lack of proper financial management system, lack of established system for financial reporting, internal control & cash management procedures, and the need for reorganization of the management.

The consultants of PRDP provided technical assistance to the farmer groups after the evaluation was done to improve their operation.

To ensure subproject sustainability, PRDP instituted monitoring and evaluation strategies which involves giving of feedback about the progress of the project to the donors, implementers and beneficiaries of the project.

Moreover, reporting is also part of the process which uses gathered information on the ground to make decisions to improve overall Project performance.# (Carl Ulysses Aguillon | RPCO 12 | Photos by LGU Antipas)