The Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Scale-Up, proposed a P2.2 billion worth of subproject proposals aimed to strengthen the agri-fishery industry in Central Luzon.
The P2.2 billion-worth of proposals are now under the review of the Central Luzon Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO 3), North Luzon Project Support Office (PSO Luzon A) and the National Project Coordination Office (NPCO).
The DA said that the expanded version of the agency’s flagship program is expected to boost the region’s agri-fishery sector.
This, after the successful implementation of the original PRDP. P2.6-billion worth of infrastructure and enterprise subprojects, supported by the World Bank, were completed in Central Luzon since it was launched in 2014.
"The construction and improvement of farm-to-market roads (FMR) with a total distance of 104 kilometers took up the largest share of funding from the original PRDP with a total value of Php1.2 billion. The province of Nueva Ecija received the most subprojects among the seven provinces of Central Luzon with 59 interventions valued at Php1.5 billion," the DA said.
In 2024, the agency added that four subprojects were approved by the Regional Project Advisory Board.
These include the Talavera Onion Cold Storage in Nueva Ecija which already began construction on February 3; the Improvement of Salay-Kadayakan FMR in Maria Aurora and Dipaculao Aurora; and Pangolingan FMR in Palauig, Zambales.
Another project is the Burgos-Salazar FMR in Carranglan Nueva Ecija, set to start construction this year, according to DA.
These accomplishments were highlighted during the RPCO 3’s first management meeting for 2025 on February 4 at the DA RFO 3 Building, City of San Fernando, Pampanga.