Eastern Visayas is Philippines's poorest region

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines – Natural calamities have made Eastern Visayas as the country’s “poorest region,” according to the Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA).

“From being the seventh poorest region in 2006, it became the poorest region in 2012. It has overtaken the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao),” the PSA’s research and development report stated.

The provinces of Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar comprise Eastern Visayas.

The economic situation in the region worsened in 2013 due to the devastation wrought by Super Typhoon Yolanda and in 2014 due to more typhoons, the report said.

Eastern Visayas posted the highest inflation rate of 10.2 percent with its agricultural productivity placed at only P58,000 per hectare in 2013.

“This means that agricultural lands in the region are producing meager outputs…it implies that lands in Region 8 are underutilized,” the report stated.

Four public and private institutions and agencies are undertaking a research and development project to help resuscitate the economy in the region.

The project, which would run until February 2019, is titled “Piloting and Up-scaling Effective Models of Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development: Strengthening Linkages among Farmers, Government, and Industry Sectors for Inclusive and Sustainable Rural Development in Inopacan, Leyte.”

The Visayas State University,  Inopacan municipal government, Visayas Consortium for Agriculture and Aquatic Resources Program and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture will undertake the research.

A memorandum of agreement for the research project was signed on March 31.