PUERTO PRINCESA CITY – After initiating the interagency convergence for the key commodities of Puerto Princesa City last year, the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) with the City Government continues to work in acquiring strategic investments for rural development.
The second convergence meeting conducted in Puerto Princesa City manifests a stronger collaboration with PRDP’s partner agencies who signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for interagency. Some of these agencies are the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), and the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA).
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Landbank of the Philippines (LBP), Western Philippines University (WPU), and Palawan State University (PSU) were also included.
The MOU is a formal arrangement among government and non-government agencies with the goal of generating strategic investments in developing the priority commodities of each province or city.
Through this collaboration, the local government can extend efforts in funding interventions identified in each commodity’s investment plans even after the six-year implementation of PRDP.
“After the end of the PRDP, we will continue implementing the City Commodity Investment Plans (CCIPs) from which the respective government agencies and institutions can assist in developing the four commodities of Puerto Princesa,” said City Agriculturist Melissa Macasaet.
In Puerto Princesa, only the cashew and mango industries have currently ongoing subprojects under the PRDP. Some of these subprojects respectively include farm-to-market roads and a processing center.
From other agencies, there are other assistances being implemented such as the continuous regulation on the mango produce by the BPI – Quarantine because of the presence of mango pulp weevil in the Province of Palawan.
The provision of farm machineries and equipment for mango growers, on the other hand, was funded by DAR through its ARC Connectivity and Economic Support Services.
For the cashew industry, the DOST have community factories located among the cashew-producing municipalities in Palawan. For seaweed farmers, a training on seaweeds production was also conducted by the DOST in cooperation with the PSU.
At the same time, the DOST is also providing technology acquisition support for banana processors in Puerto Princesa City.
