TACLOBAN CITY—The Regional Development Council in Eastern Visayas (RDC-EV) backed a $94-million (roughly P2.3-billion) agriculture development project to be implemented in selected provinces in Eastern Visayas and in all regions in Mindanao.
In a full council meeting on June 27, RDC-EV gave endorsed the implementation of the Rural Agro-Industrial Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growtht (Rapid Growth) project.
The project aims to “sustainably increase the incomes of small farmers and unemployed rural women and men across selected value chain.”
The $94-million project will be funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad), a specialized agency of the United Nations established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference.
The total project funding includes a $27.1-million counterpart of the government.
According to Cynthia Nierras, regional director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Eastern Visayas, among the provinces included in the implementation are Northern Samar, Leyte and Southern Leyte.
Also in the Rapid Growth map are Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur in Caraga region; Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte in Northern Mindanao; Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur in Zamboanga Peninsula; Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur in Davao region; and North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Saranggani in Soccsksargen.
Nierras said the National Economic and Development Authority requires the endorsement of the different regional development councils where the project will be implemented before the national government approves it. The project may be approved in August this year.
The project, to be implemented from 2018 to 2023, will have three components—value-chain development, productive investments and project management.
The development objective of the project, according to Nierras, is to provide “strategic enabling conditions” for the sustained growth of micro and small enterprises in commodity value chains with comparative advantage, market demand, growth potential and good backward linkages.
In Eastern Visayas among the crops and commodities included in the initial priority list are cacao, coffee, processed fruits and nuts and coconut coir and oil.
“Rapid Growth objectives are in line with the Duterte administration’s economic agenda, which aims at promoting productive rural enterprises and value-chain development; increasing competitiveness and ease of doing business; investing in human capital and innovative technologies; and matching skills development with private sector demand,”
Nierras said.