The Department of Agriculture – Regional Project Coordination Office headed by OIC- Regional Executive Director Renato P. Manantan spearheaded the conduct of five-day PRDPInformation Caravanfor the provinces and municipalities all over the region to update and reorient the Local Chief Executives (LCE) about the Project.

Organized by the Information, Advocacy, Communication and Education (InfoACE) Unit, the activity provided an avenue to the local executives, especially the newly elected officials, and the Provincial/Municipal Project Management and Implementation Units (P/MPMIU) to raise concerns which can be directly addressed by the officials from RPCO and the representatives from Mindanao Project Support Office (PSO).

“This activity not only allows us to be refreshed and updated about PRDP, but also a venue to resolve issues and concerns on project implementation,” said InfoACE Unit Head Emmylou Presilda.

OIC Deputy Project Director Jodel Tabada explained the significant roles of LCEs and P/MPMIUs for the achievement of the goals of the Project in establishing modern, climate-smart and market-oriented agri-fishery sector.

“Since the Project will support the local smallholder farmers and fishers to primarily increase their marketable surpluses and their access to markets, the LGU plays an important role in availing a subproject from PRDP,” said Tabada.

Tabada also stressed the importance of profound Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) in support to the Agriculture and Fishery Modernization Plan (AFMP) wherein planning begins from the municipal up to the national level.

“We are glad that the municipalities have been cooperative to the province in crafting the PCIP. I just want to reiterate that the PCIP is not only useful for PRDP, the PCIP is also a guide and basis for interventions from other agencies to the province,” Tabada said.

“The PCIP is a tool to guide the investors on what investments they need to pour to the province. The province must not worry if PRDP would come to an end. For as long as there is the PCIP, all the planned projects could be realized through other programs of the Department and with the help of other agencies,” Regional Executive Director Renato Manantan added.

PCIP is a strategic plan that rationalizes the interventions within the various segments of the value chain of commodities that are of significance to the province and that will contribute to the national goals of the agriculture and fishery sector.

“It is part of PRDP’s primary procedures that the proposed subprojects from the province must be based on the purpose of increased productivity of priority commodities refrected in the province’s PCIP,” said Manantan.

The I-BUILD or the infrastructure component of the Project reflects that as of the end of the semester, the total indicative portfolio of approved subprojects for Mindanao Cluster reached P7 billion which P1.5 billion belongs to Caraga, this is a total of 21% of the portfolioor a total of 22 subprojects for the region.

Despite the rigorous process prior to the implementation of the project, there are already five farm-to-market roads that are under implementation in the municipalities of Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte and Talacogon, Esperanza, and Veruela, Agusan del Sur.

“It is true that the process of availing a subproject under PRDP is tough and the requirements take time to be complied, but we still remain patient and determined to do whatever we can just for a project to be realized in our municipality,” said Mayor Leonida Manpatilan of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur.

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 P32 million on procurement process for the Integrated Abaca Enhancement Enterprises in Santiago, Agusan del Norte.

The component also has four other subprojects amounting to a total of P65 million in the pineline. One production, processing and marketing subproject for Agusan del Sur and the same type of subprojects for the Province of Dinagat Islands. Two additional enterprise subprojects are also hoped to be approved in Agusan del Norte within the year.

The information caravan was participated by the provincial board members on agriculture, city/municipal mayors of the provinces, city/municipal councilors on agriculture and the Provincial/Municipal Project Management and Implementation Units all over the region. (Fretcher Mgatao /DA-RPCO13)