Banking on the agriculture sector as a powerful driver for economic growth, especially in this post-pandemic time, the provincial government is determined to get huge funding for big-ticket projects supporting the province’s agri-fishery sector.
On Monday, March 13, during the orientation of the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) Scale Up” Program, Governor Corazon N. Malanayon expressed her optimism for the province to tap and benefit from the fresh rounds of funding readily available under the program. She urged the mayors of the province’s eleven Local Government Units to fast-track the requirements and proposals needed.
The PRDP Scale Up program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Philippine Rural Development Program is a World Bank-supported project touted as a platform for a modern, climate-resilient, and market-oriented agriculture and fishery sector.
With funds bankrolled by the World Bank and the Government of the Philippines with counterpart funds from the Local Government Units, the program aims to provide critical infrastructures, facilities, technology, and information to raise income, productivity, and competitiveness of the agriculture sector.
Through its main components, the I-Build Covering Infrastructure Development and I-Reap Covering Enterprise Development, PRDP-Scale Up hopes to address the challenges faced by rural areas and provide the necessary support to promote inclusive growth and improve the living conditions of rural communities.
For 2023, a total of P33 billion in funding, financed through loan proceeds, has been allotted for the entire country. Among the proposed projects listed by the LGUs are mainly farm-to-market roads, bridges, potable water systems, livelihood programs, and others poised to benefit farmers, improve agriculture, and ultimately enhance food security.
Under the i-Build component, seven pipelined subprojects are proposed in the province located in the City of Mati and the Municipalities of Cateel and Tarragona, mainly consisting of road projects.
𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻
While provinces and cities nationwide are racing to avail of the funding, Dr. Marila Corpuz, Deputy Project Director and Regional Technical Director for Operations, reminded the LGUs that the program prioritizes projects supporting and critical to the value chain. She said projects supporting the Value Chain Analyses (VCAs) and included in the Provincial Commodity Investment Plans (PCIPs) are eligible to participate in the implementation of the upcoming PRDP Scale-Up.
She said that this should strongly be considered by the LGUs in their proposals, adding that projects that will be given priority are those touted to improve farmers’ and fisherfolk’s access to markets and increase income from selected agri-fishery value chains.
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱
Amidst this massive opportunity, Governor Malanyaon expressed her hopes for the province to get a huge chunk of the budget out of the available funds just like it had in 2014 when Davao Oriental got the biggest slice of the funds from the Mindanao Rural Development Program –the PRDP’s predecessor program.
Under Governor Malanyaon’s leadership, Davao Oriental inaugurated the biggest provincial government-implemented irrigation system in Mindanao — the Cateel Irrigation Project.
Owing to the province’s impressive track record in successfully implementing the massive project even after two catastrophic disasters, Davao Oriental availed of other big-ticket projects under the MRDP’s successor– the PRDP.
Governor Malanyaon said she is optimistic that given Davao Oriental’s track record, it would be granted more projects.
Helping LGUs comply and fast-track the needed requirements, Governor Malanyaon created a special team, specifically to assist the LGUs in their proposals set to be submitted before April 15, 2023. ʙʏ ᴋʟᴅ-ᴘɪᴏ | ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏꜱ ʙʏ ᴍᴀʀᴋ ᴏʟɪᴠᴇʀ ᴀʟᴠɪᴛᴇ
