World Bank OKs funding for farm-to-market road

MANILA, Philippines – The construction of a 77.6 million- farm-to-market road (FMR) in Puerto Prinsesa City in Palawan is set to commence soon after being cleared for funding under the World Bank-supported Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).

The Department of Agriculture (DA), which implements the program, said the eight kilometer Bukang Liwayway-Makandring FMR would be funded under the infrastructure development component of the PRDP.

The road would service the market transport needs of growers of cashew, coconut and banana in Bgy. Langogan and nearby villages. Farmers who belong to the Tagbanua and Batac indigenous would also benefit from the project.

The FMR would also make it easier for students in the barangay to attend school as the rough road is impassable when heavy rains occur. The construction of the FMR is expected to be finished by June 2016.

The project site has already been visited by World Bank inspectors recently, the DA said.

The PRDP, which started in the second semester of 2014, is a six-year program implemented by the DA with the World Bank for the creation of an inclusive, value-oriented and climate-resilient agriculture and fisheries sector.

The total project cost for the PRDP is P27.5 billion consisting of a P20.5 billion loan from the World Bank, P3.58 billion counterpart funding from the national government, P3.11 billion equity of local government units, and P287 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The PRDP builds on the innovations introduced by the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) that was concluded in 2013. It would cover 80 provinces in 16 regions.

Local government units that choose to participate in the project are required to provide counterpart funds of 10 percent of the project cost for production support for commodities and 20 percent of the project cost for infrastructure projects.

Proponents of commodity production projects must prepare a commodity investment plan and, with the assistance of the DA and World Bank, subject the proposal to a value chain analysis.

A value chain analysis is a tool used to assess the status of a particular industry and the linkages among players with the purpose of strengthening the competitiveness of a commodity.

While the program has both infrastructure and enterprise components, Agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala urges local government units to put farmers at the center of proposed projects to protect domestic food production.