Since the start of 2017, the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) South Luzon Cluster has been gathering the commitment of other government and nongovernment agencies to become partners in implementing the MIMAROPA Region’s commodity investment plans.
With the Department of Agriculture (DA) as the lead agency, the Project’s local and national level planning (I-PLAN) component initiated a meeting with the Provincial Government of Palawan to formalize the partnership and organize the interagency convergence.
The convergence involved various agencies such as the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and Land Bank of the Philippines.
To represent the academe, the Palawan Local Government Unit (LGU) also invited the Western Philippines University (WPU) and the Palawan State University (PSU).
“We hope that this activity will be fruitful for all of us here for the development of the agriculture and fishery sector of the Province of Palawan. Our convergence can make a difference on our farmers and fisherfolk,” said Dr. Romeo Cabungcal, the Officer-in-Charge Provincial Agriculturist, on behalf of Gov. Jose Chavez Alvarez.
The island province of Palawan is abundant in agricultural products especially cashew, saba banana, and seaweeds. The problem, however, is that not all farmers and fisherfolk are able to maximize these resources, because only some have the technology to do so.
Through the interagency partnership, the identified interventions in the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) will be considered for the funding of other agencies aside from the PRDP.
As explained by Dr. Cabungcal, there is a need to improve and develop the province’s agricultural industry for the benefit of the farmers and fisherfolk.
In this certain endeavor, the PRDP aims to broaden investments that will support the priority commodities of each province and municipality in the country. This collaboration also contributes to the mainstreaming and institutionalization of the Project’s tools and methods.
The abovementioned agencies have formalized their partnership with the LGU by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The MOU highlights the contribution that the partner agencies can make in the implementation and updating of the priority commodity investment strategies.
