WB team to evaluate Mindanao rural development program

Sunday, January 29, 2012

THE World Bank (WB) team is set to review its rural development program implemented in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The team will assess the progress of DA’s Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) four years after implementing poverty alleviation initiatives across the six regions of the island. The weeklong activity kick starts Monday January 30, 2012 in Davao City.

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The MRDP is a five-year poverty-alleviation initiative geared toward uplifting lives of poor rural communities by providing economic opportunities and reinforcing local government units’ (LGUs) mandate of devolved delivery of services.

Its $123.57 million fund is sourced from the $83.75 million loan portfolio from the WB plus the equity of the national government and local government units (LGUs).

To date, the program has disbursed a total of $25.36 million, or 30.49 percent of the total World Bank loan portfolio among its four major components: the Rural Infrastructure (RI), which implements agri-infra critical to enhance productivity, like irrigation, farm-to-market roads, bridges, potable water supply, pre- and postharvest facilities; the Community Fund for Agricultural Development (CFAD) that provides resource-based livelihood activities; Natural Resources Management (NRM) that puts in place environment conservation mechanisms; and Investment for Governance Reform, which prepares and capacitates LGUs in the delivery of basic services.

"This will be the 7th review and assessment mission of the (World) Bank since we started in 2007," program director Lealyn A. Ramos said.

Ramos said aside from seeing the overall performance of the Program in terms of its physical and financial targets, the review mission will also look into the progress of mainstreaming the MRPD reforms to DA’s core programs and mandates in its engagement with the LGUS.

"Another important aspect we look forward discussing with the Bank is the possible extension of the program, additional funding especially for the RI projects which we received overwhelming number of proposals," she added.

Out of the total Program fund, the RI component has been earmarked P4.82 billion or 68% of the total fund. However due to the much needed of agricultural infrastructure in the rural areas, proposal of the enrolled LGUs reached as much as P10.60 billion.

Further, DA Sec. Proceso J. Alcala will lead the DA team in discussing these issues with the Bank.

Alcala is also is keen on duplicating the Program in the Visayas and southern Tagalog region through the proposed Central Philippines Rural Development Program.

WB team will compose operations officer and MRDP task team leader Felizardo K. Virtucio Jr., lead rural development specialist Carolina F. Geron along with other specialists and consultants.