DA submits P6-B foreign-assisted projects for NEDA okay

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has submitted for approval 47 foreign-assisted projects worth P6 billion to the Investment Coordinating Committee of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Of the proposed P6-billion worth of projects, P4.37 billion will be funded by foreign governments, overseas funding agencies and multilateral lending institutions such as World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, International Bank of Rural Development, Asian Development Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Australian Agency for International Development and the government of China, Spain and the European Union among others.

The balance of P1.74 billion will be shouldered by the Philippine government as counterpart funds.

"Some of these projects have taken off on a very limited scale, most of them are still in the pipeline, awaiting clearance from the ICC before they can finally get off the ground and be implemented," said Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor.

Montemayor said the projects lined up by the DA will provide support services to the agriculture and fisheries sector, other agriculture subsectors, and will be funding efforts to improve food production, strengthening marketing components and enhancing infrastructure such as irrigation, credit, and post-harvest facilities.

Of the 47 projects in the pipeline, 17 are irrigation-related, two are on port rehabilitation and development, while the rest involved upgrading of existing agriculture infrastructure.

The biggest funding required is for the P1.52-billion expansion of the General Santos fish port in Mindanao, of which P153 million will come from government.

Another big-ticket project is the P1.287-billion diversified Farm Income and Marketing Development Program. The World Bank is being asked for a P900-million loan while government will raise counterpart funding of P297 million.

Other proposed projects are the P605-million Irrigation Water Resources Augmentation and Pump Establishment Project of the National Irrigation Administration which will be largely financed by China, and a P594-million Spanish-funded NIA project to procure pumps, drilling rigs and related equipment.– Rocel Felix