By Joan Dapidap, RPCO1 InfoACE

On March 13, an inception meeting on the Philippine Rural Development Project’s (PRDP) initiative to formulate a Regional Climate Resilient and Agro-Industrial Oriented Value Chain Analysis (I-VCA) for rice commodity was held at the Department of Agriculture Ilocos Region, City of San Fernando, La Union.

I-VCA is one of PRDP’s investment planning tools that embeds climate and geologic assessment into value chain analysis, including animal and plant health risks. This approach ensures mitigation measures are not limited to commodity production and helps identify potential larger and commercial-scale investments.

With the Ilocos Region Core Planning Team in attendance, discussions covered the significance of the I-VCA in the project implementation and its potential to assist other agencies in their planning and budgeting to support rice production in the Ilocos Region.

The methodology of conducting rice I-VCA was also presented to enhance its credibility in terms of appropriateness, responsiveness, and accuracy.

Under PRDP’s Original Loan and Additional Financing scheme, rice was not included as a priority commodity, as DA’s regular funding already supports rice-based programs. The agency, however, adopted the value chain approach due to its perceived effectiveness under the PRDP.

Currently, key informant interviews have already been conducted in the top three rice-producing municipalities from the four provinces in the region—municipalities of Pagudpud, Dingras, and Bacarra in Ilocos Norte; Cervantes, Santo Domingo, and Santa Lucia in Ilocos Sur; Naguilian, Rosario, and Bangar in La Union; and Mangatarem, San Manuel, and Umingan in Pangasinan.

In the upcoming months, PRDP Ilocos Region, through its I-PLAN component, will hold a series of focus group discussions and a regional stakeholders’ consultation to ensure the completeness of the I-VCA.