P27.5-B rural dev’t project readied

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Aquino administration is set to implement an agriculture-led program meant to help farmers create value-added products and develop related supply chains nationwide.

The Cabinet committee and the technical board of the National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) have jointly approved the allocation of P27.54 billion for the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP), which is a special program of the Department of Agriculture.

Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan informed Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala of the approval earlier this month. Balisacan said the approved funding included P20.55 billion in loans from the World Bank, P3.58 billion as national government counterpart, P3.12 billion in equity from local government units (LGUs) and a P287-million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The agriculture department said in a statement that it expected the Neda Board chaired by President Aquino to approve the PRDP next month and to implement the program in the last quarter of 2013.

The PRDP includes the construction of farm-to-market roads, irrigation facilities and other farming-related structures.

The DA said the ICC-approved project would be implemented over six years as the agency’s platform for inclusive growth and value-chain development and help create a climate-resilient agri-fisheries sector. It will cover 80 provinces in 16 regions.

“With PRDP, we want to create a chain of economic opportunities to bring farmers’ produce to higher levels of the value chain and allow them to participate in the gains of value creation beyond the farm gate,” Agriculture Undersecretary Joel S. Rudinas said.

The NEDA-ICC reviews the fiscal, monetary and balance-of-payments implications of major capital projects and recommends to the President the timetable for the implementation of these projects.

The PRDP draws from the innovations introduced by the ongoing Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP).

“The program will support priority commodities,” Rudinas said. “The bulk of the population especially in the rural areas is still into agriculture. We need to create opportunities and generate employment in the field.”

Value chain refers to the full range of activities that are required to bring a produce or services through the different phases of production, including physical transformation and the inputs of various producer services and response to the consumer demand, explained World Bank marketing specialist Flordeliza Lantican.