EC okays 1-year extension of Mindanao project

The European Commission (EC) is extending until July 2007 its P1.1-billion Upland Development Program (UDP) in Mindanao.

EC Ambassador Jan de Kok made the announcement in the recent European Ambassador’s mission to Central Mindanao where several projects of European Union-funded projects are currently being implemented.

The UDP was originally intended to be a seven-year rural development program to be implemented from January 1999 to January 2006. The program, the successor project of the Southern Mindanao Agricultural Program, aims to develop and test replicable models for sustainable development of the resource based in the uplands of Mindanao.

De Kok said the extension period will enable the EC to further fine-tune and pilot-test the replicable models developed by the UDP, especially those aimed at protecting and conserving upland areas and those aimed at increasing food production and income-generating projects for upland farmers.

"It is expected that during this extension period, greater sustainability and impact will be achieved by the local government units that will adopt and replicate the UDP-developed models," said De Kok.

Last September, several EU development counselors visited and monitored various UDP projects. Some of the successful projects include the Diversified Farming System Farm, Soil and Water Conservation Practicing Site, Land Care/Land Management Area and communal system in Sarangani Province.

On the other hand, the team which went earlier this month to South Cotabato met with local government representatives and farmer training organizations to discuss issues related to further improving the components of the UDP.

The UDP is being implemented in several upland provinces in Mindanao, including Davao del sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, South Cotabato and Sarangani.

De Kok said the EC is working out the possibility of creating another program that will replace the UDP when it is completed in July 2007.

"The EU is reaffirming its development partnership with the Philippines to alleviate poverty in the poorest provinces in the Philippines using multi-sector interventions and to increase the self-reliance, living standards and quality of life in these areas," said De Kok.