DA to receive World Bank grant for sustainable agricultural transformation
(Manila Bulletin file photo)
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to receive a technical assistance grant from the World Bank that will support programs aligned with the forthcoming $1-billion program loan from the Washington-based multilateral lender.
In a concept document published on July 7, the World Bank said its board will approve on Sept. 24 the Technical Assistance for Sustainable Agricultural Transformation in the Philippines (TASAT).
The World Bank document did not indicate the actual amount of technical assistance, only saying that the total project cost is $14.5 million, or over ₱817 million.
To be implemented by the DA, this investment project financing (IPF) is aimed at improving the efficiency of fertilizer subsidies, increasing crop diversification, as well as strengthening institutional delivery capacity in the Philippines.
The upcoming grant financing will be enhanced by the Philippines Sustainable Agriculture Transformation (PSAT) Program—poised to be the Philippines’ biggest-ever single loan from the World Bank, which is up for approval on July 21.
PSAT, which will be implemented from 2025 to 2029, is scheduled to launch in August.
It would be the country’s first loan under the World Bank’s program-for-results (PforR) financing framework, providing budgetary support for the country’s major infrastructure projects aimed at boosting the agriculture sector.
As for the technical assistance grant, the World Bank said it would “provide technical assistance for repurposing of rice production fertilizer subsidies for input use efficiency and strengthening resilience, technical assistance to enhance crop diversification through intensification of high value cropping, [and] technical assistance to strengthen the DA’s institutional capacity in support of the Agrifood Transformation agenda.”
The World Bank said key results will be measured by increases in average rice yields among project beneficiaries, adoption of improved fertilizer through repurposed support using intervention monitoring cards (IMCs), diversification of rice production areas into high-value crops (HVCs), and training of DA staff on a multi-year results-based budgeting framework.
According to the World Bank, the technical assistance has positive equity and poverty reduction implications, with women comprising 42.9 percent of the 6.21 million registered farmers as of 2023, and project beneficiary targets covering 7.5 percent of women farmers and 6.4 percent of all farmers.