The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday has expressed confidence that President Duterte will approve its request to secure an additional $450-million loan from the World Bank for the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).
“The [PRDP expansion] proposal was already seen by the President and it’s okay with him. There are already indications that the president will approve it,” DA-PRDP National Deputy Project Director Arnel V. de Mesa told reporters in a news briefing.
“So we are still waiting for the final and formal endorsement of the President,” de Mesa added.
De Mesa said Duterte’s recent pronouncements against the West will not cause the President to hold back his approval for the expansion of the PRDP.
“Last time there was one project from the Department of Agrarian Reform to be financed by the World Bank and it was approved by the President during the first Neda [National Economic and Development Authority] board meeting,” de Mesa added.
He also said if the DA secures the endorsement of the President and then the approval of the World Bank for the additional P20.9-billion loan, the government could use it by July 2017.
The DA earlier said it is hopeful of securing the Neda Board’s approval for the PRDP by early January next year.
The expansion of the PRDP project would involve the construction of an additional 206 farm-to-market roads (FMR), 24 market roads and bridges, 17 level 2 potable-water supply and 65 other agricultural-support infrastructure, the Neda Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-Cabcom) said.
The ICC-Cabcom approved and endorsed the $450-million expansion plan for the PRDP in end-September.
“Yes, this [PRDP] is the biggest World Bank supported community development project,” World Bank Task Team Leader for the PRDP Frauke Jungbluth said.
A World Bank team is currently in the country to assess the current development and status of the PRDP in the next three weeks.
As of November 4, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol approved funding for 354 infrastructure development subprojects worth P17.75 billion and 215 enterprise development subprojects amounting to P540.67 million. The subprojects covered 71 of the 81 targeted provinces under the countrywide program.
“The remaining provinces that are not yet part of the PRDP are: Batanes, Cavite, Rizal, Negros Oriental, Dinagat Islands, Camiguin, Davao Occidental, Siquijor, Basilan and Sulu,”
de Mesa said.
The PRDP is a P27.48-billion six-year national project under the DA that aims to establish a modern, value-chain oriented, and climate-resilient agriculture and fisheries sector. The PRDP’s financing comes from the World Bank loan worth P20.50 billion, Global Environment Facility grant of P287 million, national government of P3.579 billion and LGUs’ equity of
P3.118 billion.
In June the World Bank said the new administration under Duterte gives them “high hopes” for the improvement of the Philippine agriculture and the farmers.
The World Bank has expressed satisfaction with the P27.5-billion PRDP in Mindanao following a review mission in the region in April.