North Luzon is the first cluster visited by the World Bank team for the 7^th Implementation Support Mission to the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) which kicked off on November 19.

Delegates from the World Bank headed by Frauke Jungbluth, lead Agriculture Economist and Task Team Leader visited the Province of Tarlac to assess two PRDP enterprises and one ongoing farm-to-market road, followed by a plenary meeting attended by key personnel from the cluster on November 20-24.

“The more we advance with the project, the more we should know how to consolidate achievements,” said Jungbluth during the plenary session.

Jungbluth pointed out the current stage of the project where impact on larger development must be documented and disseminated not only within the Department of Agriculture but also with other agencies.

“As we are on the second phase of the project, it is also about how to consolidate and ensure the sustainability of the activities that we’re doing. How do we make sure that five years from now, when we come back, things are still working?” she added.

The joint team of the World Bank, National Project Coordination Office (NPCO), Project Support Office (PSO), Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) and the Provincial Project Management and Implementing Unit (PPMIU) of Tarlac visited the I-REAP subproject “Provision of Custom Service and Establishment of Processing Center and Storage Facility for Sweetpotato in the Province of Tarlac.” The enterprise is an 18.7 million peso project in Moncada with fully operational civil works now benefitted by about 179 farmer-members of the Sapang Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

Last April 2016, the World Bank team conducted an initial assessment to the sweetpotato enterprise before its full implementation.

“Tarlac is one of the few provinces where we came back to with the Project. You should now be very proud of what you have become with PRDP,” said Jungbluth to the members of the cooperative during the I-REAP consultation.

She also added, “We’re very pleased about the progress. What we saw was very positive that these subprojects would really make an impact for a larger group of farmers.”

The enterprise will be supported by the ongoing 14.6 kilometer Improvement of Capaoayan- Banaoang- Ablang Sapang FMR, which was inspected by the team led by World Bank Rural Infrastructure Engineer Raoul Azanza.

Another proposed subproject, the “Establishment of Mango Trading Station in the Province of Tarlac” in Santa Ignacia was also visited. The 3 million peso micro enterprise is now for procurement and will soon benefit 64 rural farmers.

Expressing her gratitude, Tarlac Governor Susan A. Yap thanked the World Bank and PRDP for concretizing and complementing the province’s vision for inclusive growth and sustainable development.

“Your goals and mission are congruent to our advocacy of putting greater emphasis and value to the welfare and well-being of our beloved Tarlaceños, by uplifting their living standards with an improved quality of life,” said Governor Yap.

The World Bank implementation support mission is a semestral event held nationwide to evaluate progress towards achievement of the project development objectives. The 7^th mission will conclude on December 7 after the cluster legs on North and South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. (Kayla Arceo, North Luzon InfoACE)