DA sets P35-M fund for Negros Oriental, Siquijor

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) is funding various projects worth P35 million in Negros Oriental and Siquijor to boost agricultural output in those provinces.

In a statement, the DA said the assistance was announced by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala during his recent visit to the two provinces.

The assistance to be provided in Siquijor includes a barangay food terminal to be put up in the town of San Juan, as well as livelihood projects to be undertaken by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

In Negros Oriental, the DA is funding irrigation projects and providing hand tractors and draft animals with implements.

For both provinces, the department is providing farm and fishery equipment and inputs aimed at increasing productivity and incomes.

The farm machinery and equipment include hand tractors, village-type corn dryers, multi-purpose dryers, palay shed and cassava graters.

In line with the assistance being provided to both provinces, Alcala said the DA is seeking a $300 million loan from the World Bank to fund a program that will support small farming and fishing communities in Southern Luzon and Central Visayas.

The program called Central Philippines Rural Development Program (CPRDP) will be patterned after the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP), which has received funding from the World Bank.

Unlike the MRDP though which follows a 50-40-10 counterpart arrangement from the World Bank, the DA and local government units (LGU), respectively, the CPRDP is proposed to have an 80-20 counterpart arrangement, wherein the department and LGUs will each shoulder 10 percent of the project cost and the balance will come from the program funds.