WB-funded Mindanao development program may be amended

MANILA, Philippines –  Program policies of the World Bank-funded Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) may be amended this year to allow for bigger investments.

This year, the program is set to implement big-ticket projects like irrigation and potable water systems, and agri-business livelihood projects amounting to as high as P10 million which will be managed at the provincial level.

This was revealed by MRDP director Lealyn Ramos following a recent visit of a World Bank review mission which praised the MRDP and the Department of Agriculture’s effort to build up the agricultural potential of Mindanao.

The WB review mission likewise recommended that more funds be allocated to active local government units (LGUs) to further increase the disbursement of the program.

The MRDP is a long-term poverty-alleviation program of the DA particularly for Mindanao. The program covers all 26 provinces and 225 towns of Mindanao.

Jointly funded by the WB, the National Government and local government units, the MRDP is now on its second phase.

Under the program’s rural infrastructure component, a total of P245.76 million infrastructure projects have been completed.

The Community Fund for Agricultural Development (CFAD) component, likewise, has helped agri-based livelihoods amounting P121.94 million.

The MRDP’s Natural Resources Management (NRM) component has 41 active on-ground investments amounting to P76.39 million, of which nine sub-projects have been completed amounting to P17 million.

The pipeline of rural infrastructure portfolio sub-projects is valued at P6.4 billion, which amount already approximates the end-of-the-project global target and is triple the P2.1-billion pipeline set last year.

Since the start of the program in 2007, CFAD has benefited a total of 38,266 individuals all over Mindanao.

“The improvement of completed sub-projects is impressive but the challenge still is to translate the bulk of proposals into competed sub-projects to commensurate increase in project disbursement,” said WB senior officer Felizardo Virtucio.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, in response, assured the bank the MRDP would receive the same support it has enjoyed in the previous administration.