DA to ink additional $280-M loan for PRDP in July

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to ink a $280-million second additional financing (AF2) loan, equivalent to P14 billion, with the World Bank in the coming months to bankroll projects under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).

According to the DA, the loan will finance agriculture enterprise and rural infrastructure subprojects under the PRDP as part of the second tranche of the $450-million funding from the World Bank approved by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) in 2016.

The loan includes an 18.3-million euro or P1 billion co-financing grant from the European Union, likely to be approved by the World Bank on June 17. The formal loan signing is set for July.

"We look forward to more enable communities and expanded opportunities under the new normal with the approval of the AF2-EU," Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a statement released to reporters via mobile message.

The additional funding seeks to boost activities and enhance the benefits of the PRDP such as increasing demand for rural infrastructure by local government units (LGUs), and for enterprise development investments and technical assistance handed to farmers, fishers, and agribusiness groups.

"We must continue to improve our services and processes as the world is ever-changing, and as we gradually move towards a new way of living. It is also our responsibility to keep up with the times and offer innovative solutions on how to provide for a modern, climate-smart, and market-oriented agri-fishery sector," said Dar.

The PRDP is a six-year national project that aims to establish a modern, value chain-oriented, and climate-resilient agriculture and fisheries sector.

The project is in partnership with local government units and the private sector, providing key infrastructure facilities, technology, and information to raise incomes, productivity, and competitiveness in targeted areas.

As of April 30, 2021, the DA said it has rolled out 1,091 projects in 78 provinces that have benefitted 766,200 households. It has also conducted 132 value chain analyses covering 76 agri-fishery and food commodities.

In terms of infrastructure, the DA said it has constructed over 1,200 kilometers of roads; over 1,000 linear meters of bridges; 98 pre- and post-harvest facilities, provided potable water systems for 6,582 households; improved irrigation or drainage services for 1,997 hectares of farmland; and completed over 400 enterprise sub-projects.

"It has been a roller-coaster ride, but thanks for your persistence. It really pays off. A recent report from the World Bank highlighted the satisfactory implementation of the PRDP, and rated its monitoring and evaluation system as high, a rating rarely awarded by the Bank," World Bank task team leader Eli Weiss was quoted as saying in the statement. —KG, GMA News