Philippine Rural Development Project–National Project Coordination Office (PRDP-NPCO) reports that Caraga’s approved infrastructure and enterprise subprojects have already reached a total of P 982,605,907.

Intensified Building-Up of Infrastructure and Logistics for Development (I-BUILD) Component which aims to put in place strategic and climate-resilient rural infrastructure facilities along the value chain got the bulk of this amount with nineteen approved sub projects amounting to a total of P 966,385,906.98. Seven of these are already under implementation and twelve sub projects are still on the procurement process.

Other than the approved nineteen sub projects, I-BUILD for Caraga still has five sub projects in the pipeline which has a total amount of P 516,563,803.89 and hoped to be approved within the year.

These infrastructure subprojects would translate to improved road networks linking production areas with markets to enhance efficiency of transporting agricultural products; increased productivity from irrigation and water supply systems; and lower post harvest losses.

The twenty-four I-BUILD subprojects for Caraga would create a total amount of P1,482,949,710.92 as presented in the table.

I-BUILD team in the region is doing its best to achieve the target and has formulated a program that would reach the attainment of 41% disbursement of implemented sub projects by June. “We have been busy helping the LGUs and contractors comply the needed requirements so we can reach our goal for this year,” Engr. Rene Morales, I-BUILD Component Head said during the provincial coordination meeting.

On the other hand, Investments for Rural Enterprises and Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity (I-REAP) Component which aims to strengthen and develop viable agri-fishery based enterprises through efficient value chains of key agriculture and fishery products already has one approved subproject amounting to P 16,220,000 on procurement process for the Integrated Abaca Enhancement Enterprises in Santiago, Agusan del Norte.

The component also has four other sub projects amounting to a total of P 65,584,180.32 in the pipeline. One production, processing and marketing subproject for Agusan del Sur and the same subproject for the Province of Dinagat Islands. Two additional enterprise subprojects are also hoped to be implemented in Agusan del Norte within the year.

The realization of I-REAP subprojects would translate to an increased smallholder groups operating viable enterprises; enhanced producer productivity through formalized arrangements for marketing and technical services; and increased smallholder and fisher resilience to climate change and adverse weather conditions.

PRDP is a six-year national government platform for an inclusive, value chain-oriented and climate resilient agriculture and fisheries sector. It is the upscale version of the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) where innovations are introduced to address current and emerging challenges and make rural development more effective.

It is currently implemented under the Department of Agriculture (DA), PRDP is jointly funded by the World Bank, National Government and the Local Government Units (LGU).

The Project has partnered with LGUs and the private sector in providing key infrastructure, facilities, technology and information that will raise income, productivity and competitiveness among the players in agriculture. (Fretcher Magatao, DA-13)