President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. called on stakeholders to support the implementation of the P45.01 billion Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Scale-Up, which he said would benefit Filipino farmers, fisherfolk, and consumers. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets with World Bank officials in Malacañang on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)
The development of the country’s agricultural sector would provide better opportunities for farmers and fisherfolks and make their products easily accessible to the market. It is expected to benefit about 450,000 farmers and fisherfolk and create about 42,000 new jobs. “Our priorities are going towards the same direction,” Marcos said. “Again, we will just have to scale up and do the necessary things,” the President said during a meeting on Tuesday, June 6, with concerned government officials and the World Bank (WB) in Malacañang to discuss the status of the PRDP Scale-Up. “We really have to develop the agricultural sector. So, let’s keep going. And, of course, what I am always reminded of is that we sometimes speak, in terms of agriculture, speak only of production. We have also to look at the farmers, fishermen,” Marcos added. The PRDP Scale-Up is the first project approved at record speed as it is set to be implemented only after seven months after it was submitted for consideration by the Department of Agriculture (DA) before the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). Projects usually get approved after three years. The Chief Executive stressed the need for the government to ensure a balance between the farmers and consumers, wherein the former produce and earn more while the latter has access to sufficient food supply at affordable prices. He also raised the need for consolidation and inclusivity, and partitioning the collective Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) for families to make farmland usable. Started in 2014, the PRDP aims to establish a modern, value chain-oriented, and climate-resilient agriculture and fisheries sector that can provide key infrastructure, facilities, technology, enterprises, information, productivity, and competitiveness in the countryside. The Marcos administration’s Scale-Up plans to build on the gains of the original PRDP as it further focused on ensuring farmers and fisherfolk have access to the right markets. Part of the project’s overall strategic directions is to consolidate and cluster farmer and fisherfolk cooperative associations (FCAs) to attain economies of scale, enhance farm-to-market roads (FMRs), and partner FCAs with the private sector. This would cover 82 provinces in 16 regions of the country, including clusters of FCAs. Of the P45.01 billion total project cost, P33 billion will be financed through official development assistance (ODA) loans from WB, while the P5.57 billion will come from the national government, and the P6.44 billion will be funded by the local government units (LGUs) and FCAs. The World Bank Board is expected to approve the project on June 29, with the loan signing scheduled in July. After the loan is approved, project implementation will begin in August this year.