The Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) Regional Project Coordination Office 3 (RPCO 3) conducted its enterprise development component, I-REAP, 2023 assessment meeting in Olongapo City, Zambales, on January 10-12, 2024.

The RPCO 3 I-REAP, headed by Dr. Maricel Dullas, underscored its accomplishments and targets achieved for 2023. It completed two subprojects in 2023 with a total worth of P142 million.

The P124.56 million onion cold storage enterprise subproject by the Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magsisibuyas ng Nueva Ecija (KASAMNE) from Palayan City, Nueva Ecija was completed in March 2023 while the P17.55 million carabao milk storage enterprise by the Catalanacan Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CAMPC) from the Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija was turned over in December 2023.

These brought the total completed PRDP enterprise subprojects in the region to 157 subprojects amounting to P484.34 million. 

The construction of the two onion cold storage facilities from the Bantug Agricultural Multi-Purpose Cooperative and Valiant Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative’s respective onion post-harvest enterprise began their construction in 2023.

_{RPCO 3 Enterprise Development and Marketing Specialist Carissa Cabubus}

On the other hand, the RPCO 3 I-REAP is also preparing the proposed subprojects under the PRDP Scale-Up which will be in effect until 2028. During the activity PRDP Regional Project Director Dr. Arthur Dayrit pointed out the objective of the PRDP Scale-Up. “The PRDP Scale-Up is intended to increase productivity, value addition, and access to market using what we call the cluster-based innovation approach,” said Dayrit.

_{RPCO 3 Project Director Dr. Arthur Dayrit}

Dayrit also encouraged the present LGU partners from the provincial to the city and municipal levels to present proposals for enterprise interventions for the PRDP Scale-Up that would benefit agri-fishery sector. “I urge that we submit proposals for the PRDP Scale-Up because the more subprojects that we are granted, the more farmers and fisherfolk that we’ll be able to help,” Dayrit added.

The RPCO 3 I-REAP also recognized efforts of the Provincial/City/Municipal Project Management and Implementation Units (PPMIU) in the I-REAP Awards Night where the PPMIU Tarlac and Nueva Ecija bagged the most awards with five awards each. // Ram Bautista (RPCO 3 InfoACE)