RDC endorses USD450-M additional loan request for rural dev’t

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 1 (PNA) – The Regional Development Council (RDC) in Eastern Visayas has endorsed the request of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for additional USD450 million loan from the World Bank for the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).

The loan proceeds intended for all regions in the country, will also finance the PHP1.1 billion worth of farm-to-market road projects for Eastern Visayas earlier approved by the DA’s regional project advisory board.

“These farm-to-market roads and other infrastructure projects requested by local government units will not be funded if not endorsed by the RDC and approved by the World Bank,” said DA Eastern Visayas Regional Executive Director Wilson Cerbito.

The endorsement from all RDCs in the country is one of the requirements of the World Bank before the release of additional loans for PRDP.

PRDP is a six-year program (2014-2021) designed to establish the government platform for a modern, climate-smart and market-oriented agri-fishery sector. It seeks to improve agricultural competitiveness and expand market access for any identified priority commodities under the project.

It has a total cost of PHP27.48 million in four components – local and national level planning, infrastructure development, enterprise development and support.

Infrastructure development gets a big chunk of the budget at PHP18.5.53 billion, which accounts 67.4 percent of the total outlay nationwide.

For Eastern Visayas, the project is pouring in PHP2.42 billion funds for infrastructure component alone.

Of the USD450 million additional loan request, 82 percent of it is intended for rural infrastructure, 13 percent for operational expenses, and five percent for enterprise facilities.

“Additional loan will cover the current local shortage against demand and can still absorb further proposals,” Cerbito added.

The official reported that farm-to-market road allocation from the central government declined from PHP12 billion in 2014 to PHP6.25 billion in 2015.

The PRDP aims to attain at least five percent increase per year in real household annual incomes of farmer and fisherfolk beneficiaries; 30 percent increase in incomes for targeted beneficiaries involved in enterprise development; seven percent increase in value of annual marketed output; and 20 percent increase in the number of farmers and fisherfolk with improved access to DA services. (PNA)

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