One of the aspirations of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) is not only to provide hard support to the agriculture and fisheries sector in terms of infrastructures and enterprises but also to give soft support through plans and frameworks that will make the bureaucracy less bureaucratic and more empowering to the stakeholders it served.

An important document developed by the Project is the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP). Based on the results of Value Chain Analyses (VCA), the three-year rolling plan provides a scientifically backed and consensus-built investments for the priority commodities of the province. As such, the public, especially the farmers, fisherfolks, and agripreneurs, will be ensured that the programs, activities, and projects for agriculture and fisheries are sound.

VCA helps identify and reveal the linkages between activities that create value, profitability, and competitive advantage as well as identify constraints and opportunities of a certain commodity along the segments of the value chain.

“While it is the PRDP which developed the PCIP, it is not limited for the use of the project. Both PRDP and non-PRDP sources of funding are identified in the investment plans to facilitate its integration in planning and budgeting processes of the Department of Agriculture, local governments, and other government agencies,” I-PLAN Component Head Maria Ella Cecilia Obligado of PRDP CALABARZON said. She is also the current chief of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division of DA CALABARZON.

In December 2020, Agriculture Secretary William Dar issued a memorandum mandating the mainstreaming of the Province-led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Systems (PAFES) in the Department’s operations. One of its specific objectives is to enhance the agricultural development plans of specific pilot provinces guided by the DA’s Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization and Industrialization Plan and the PCIP.

Through the Collaborative Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Program, the PRDP through its PCIP will enter PAFES to establish enterprises to enhance rural livelihoods based on the value chains of priority commodities.

With PCIP, each province will be guided in identifying the agricultural and fisheries extension program priorities in their localities as part of their role in PAFES. This will also help to rationalize government interventions in the commodity value chains.

Currently, the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office CALABARZON is partnering with the provincial government of Batangas for pilot activities. It’s regular offices, banner programs, and the PRDP CALABARZON regional office are collaborating to better support the pilot province in implementing PAFES. # (Lawrence Albert Bariring, DA-PRDP CALABARZON RPCO InfoACE Unit)

DA CALABARZON OIC-Regional Technical Director for Research and Regulations Avelita M. Rosales signs the MOA as witness between OIC-Regional Executive Director Vilma M. Dimaculangan and Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas for the pilot implementation of PAFES in the province. (Photo: Maria Ella Cecilia Obligado, I-PLAN Component Head)

DA CALABARZON OIC-Regional Executive Director Vilma M. Dimaculangan and Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas signed the Memorandum of Agreement for the pilot implementation of PAFES in the province. OIC-Regional Technical Director for Research and Regulations Avelita M. Rosales, PMED Chief and PAFES Focal Person Maria Ella Cecilia B. Obligado, and Assistant Provincial Administrator Atty. Colin B. Bautista witnessed the ceremonial signing of the MOA during their virtual conference. (Photo: Maria Ella Cecilia Obligado, I-PLAN Component Head)

All five provinces in the CALABARZON region have created their commodity investment plans; some of which are being updated based also on the updated Value Chain Analysis of priority commodities in their respective areas. (Photo: Lawrence Albert Bariring)