The World Bank (WB) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) will assess the overall implementation performance and progress of two projects that aim to raise agricultural output.
The DA said in a statement that the 17th WB Implementation Support Mission (ISM) to the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) and the 2nd WB ISM to the PRDP Scale-up will be held from April 22 to May 9.
Manila initially obtained a loan of $501.25 million for the PRDP in September 2014. It secured additional funding of $170 million for the project in March 2018. Last September 2021, the government secured additional financing of $280 million from WB for the PRDP.
As for PRDP Scale-up, Manila obtained a loan of $600 million from the Washington-based multilateral lender last year to finance the project which costs $818.40 million.
The DA said the development objective of PRDP is to “increase rural incomes and enhance farm and fishery productivity in targeted areas in all the 16 regions of the country.”
The PRDP will also support reforms in the planning, resource programming and implementation practices of the DA.
For this mission, WB said it will focus on reviewing the projects’ compliance with the agreed actions from the previous mission and evaluate their financial management, disbursement, and procurement.
It also aims to oversee the remaining investments under the Second Additional Financing with European Union Grant and assess the implementation of the Institutional Strengthening Action Plan.
Led by Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. and WB Country Manager Ndiame Diope, the three-week-long mission will commence on April 22 with a kick-off meeting and opening of the DA-PRDP Exhibit at the DA Central Office in Quezon City. The exhibit will showcase the PRDP’s 10-year evolution, major accomplishments, success stories, and the products of its supported rural enterprises.
A series of technical discussions between the WB and the components and units of the PRDP will also take place from April 23 to 26. The discussions will focus on key thematic areas, such as financial management, knowledge management and communication, monitoring and evaluation of subprojects, and mainstreaming of PRDP innovations.
On the second week of the mission, the DA-PRDP and WB will visit I-REAP and I-BUILD subprojects (SPs) in Visayas and Mindanao to inspect their implementation and progress and to engage with the implementing local government units and proponent groups. The team will visit a total of seven subprojects, four in Bohol and three from the Davao Region.
In line with the DA chief’s digitization plans for the department, a two-day agriculture digital solutions roundtable discussion with agri-tech and fintech companies will also be held on May 7-8. The activity aims to advance the digitization of the PRDP’s enterprise investments and build a robust partnership with the private sector.
The 17th PRDP and 2nd PRDP Scale-Up WB ISM will conclude on May 9 with a wrap-up meeting where the World Bank will present its findings, recommendations, and overall performance rating of the projects.
The WB ISM is conducted semiannually to ensure that all Bank-assisted projects are efficiently implemented and on track to achieving their project development objectives.