World Bank gave Department of Agriculture’s flagship rural development project a satisfactory rating.

During its recent Midterm review, DA’s Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) satisfactorily achieved its development objectives and overall project implementation according to World Bank.

Under the infrastructure development component, the completed concrete farm-to-market-road (FMR) projects nationwide with a total length of 148.4 km resulted to the reduction of travel time by 43%; hauling cost of farmers produce by 32% and by 54% for production inputs. The FMR projects have benefitted a total of 77,000 households.

An additional 1,220 km on-going construction of FMRs are expected to give more benefits.

“The newly constructed farm to market roads also creates a huge impact in the lives of its beneficiaries where average household income increases to 64% accompanied with the increased of school attendance and higher enrollment numbers, improved peace and order, faster response to medical emergencies, improved supplies available at small local stores, and increased crop areas,” reported Frauke Jungbluth, WB Senior Economist and task team leader for PRDP.

PRDP’s enterprise development component has 111 enterprises supported with another 401 under various stages of development leads to increase in production, crop area and value addition.

In South Cotabato particularly, a 31% increase in the volume of cassava tubers was noted; 9% increase in tubers’ selling price; and 47% rise in cassava farmers’ income.

“This is the result of the strong partnership of the DA, local government units, our farmer-beneficiaries and the strong support of our private sector,” said PRDP Mindanao director Ricardo M. Oñate, Jr.

“We are also seeing now the positive effects of mainstreaming PRDP innovations to provincial planning process,” Oñate added.

World Bank has noted that PRDP achieved a wide institutionalization and acceptance of the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) which served as a technical-based planning platform for convergence between programs among its partner agencies. While its business-plan based approach to sustainable enterprise development has increasingly attracted the start-up of small enterprises and the LGUs are expanding their investments for enterprises.

Mainstreaming of the institutional and governance reforms across the DA improved cost savings and the introduction of enhance planning through PCIPs has already enabled LGUs to leverage additional PhP 8 billion.

Among PRDP’s best practices include the geo-tagging linked to web-based MIS system for the enhancement of sub-project design, progress monitoring and oversight; rapid appraisal of emerging benefits tool that allows feedback on sub-project outcomes upon completion; and development of web-based MIS system and maintained in-house that integrates data and reports for management, based on analysis that integrates statistical, economic, and safeguard inputs. (Joy M. Montecalvo/ PSO Mindanao)

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