The Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) sub-project portfolio is now pegged at P11.382 Billion (B), which includes production, marketing, and logistics support for farmers and fishers in the countryside.

The amount covers rural infrastructure projects and marketing and technical assistance for rural agri-producers, processors, and traders proposed by Local Government Units (LGUs) during DA-PRDP’s Year 1 implementation, which can still increase in the coming months.

The Philippine Government and the World Bank signed PRDP’s P27.5 billion loan-and-grant agreement on September 8, 2014 and was declared effective and ready for loan drawdowns in early December 2014.

For the project’s official first year (July 2014 to June 2015) I-PLAN, the planning component, has engaged 66 provinces out of the total 80 provinces in the country as of December 2014, 29 of which have Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) approved by their respective Provincial Development Council.

A total of 195 sub-projects have already been proposed by LGUs under the Infrastructure Development Component (I-BUILD) worth P11.02 B, part of which is the construction and rehabilitation of 1,121 kilometers farm-to-market roads with a total projected cost of P9.7 B.

The Enterprise Component (I-REAP) has a current portfolio of 31 sub-projects worth P361.84 million (M), which includes market assistance, capability-building, technology development, and production and post-harvest support, among others.

This  rural project accomplishment will be  highlighted during the World Bank (WB) Review Mission for DA-PRDP Kick-off Meeting which will be held today (January 20, 2015) at the DA-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) Convention Hall, Quezon City.

The first of the two review missions this year of the WB for DA-PRDP aims to look into the progress pace of the rural development project, as well as problems and issues that affect its implementation.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala urged PRDP implementers to check on the measures of results of the review mission, particularly, those that record the improvement in the incomes and lives of farmers and fishers.

He also called on officials and implementers to be creative in identifying the mainstream of DA activities and programs that the Project should build on.

“We do not need to start new projects and enterprises if there are those we can enhance, upscale or mainstream. All our trading posts, grains processing centers, fish ports and other facilities are I-REAP projects in waiting. Some of these only need to be appropriately situated in the commodity value chain or only need to be jumpstarted through one of our financing programs,” he added.

Based on PRDP’s progress report, 58 provincial Local Government Units (LGUs) have already entered into a partnership with the DA for the Project through a Memorandum of Agreement.

Since its inception two years ago, the project has now value chain analyses (VCA) for 25 PRDP priority commodities all over the country including coffee, rubber, mango, and seaweeds among others.

A VCA is used to assess the status of a particular industry, the linkages and interplay of the different players along the value chain and identify upgrading strategies and interventions that could contribute to the development of the industry. It is used as the basis in identifying public and private investment opportunities.

As a platform for a transparent and modern government, Alcala highlights PRDP tools that promote transparency and accountability such as the geo-tagging and Expanded Vulnerability and Suitability Assessment (E-VSA).

“Foremost among the gains that already benefit the Department is, of course, geo-tagging – an innovative and cost-efficient ICT application, that enables accurate long-distance monitoring of projects by connecting –with high degree of precision– digital photos and videos with reliable geographic information. Developed under MRDP, PRDP continued to improve on it and expand its users.”

“Another trail-blazing technology is (E-VSA), an online tool that guides users in targeting project areas based on poverty indicators, soil suitability and vulnerability to climate risks,” added Alcala.

For his part, DA Undersecretary for Operations and PRDP National Project Director Emerson Palad assured participants and stakeholders that the Project will further address production, logistics, and post-harvest problems through the establishment of strategic infrastructures like farm-to-market-roads, communal irrigation systems, and post-harvest facilities, among others.

The Review Mission’s Kick-off meeting will be attended by a Team from World Bank, officials from national agencies and DA bureaus and attached agencies and DA Regional Executive Directors.

The event will be followed by cluster review meetings in Negros Occidental for Visayas, General Santos for Mindanao, Albay for South Luzon and La Union for North Luzon. (NPCO InfoACE)