THE World Bank (WB) said it returned a “satisfactory” rating on progress made by the Department of Agriculture in enhancing farmer and fisherfolk market access.
The government borrowed $600 million from the World Bank for the Rural Development Project Scale-Up Project last year. The ultimate goal in improving market access is to boost incomes across selected agri-fishery value chains.
“The overall project’s initial implementation performance is considered Satisfactory,” the bank said in an Oct. 9 implementation status and results report.
The scale-up project aims to support access for micro- to medium-scale agricultural and fishery enterprises to resources, knowledge, and income-generating activities. It also seeks to increase the participation of women in farming and fishery activities.
The bank also issued a “Moderate” overall risk rating for the project.
“Implementation and institutional arrangements are in place and working, including its systems and procedures which build on the experiences and lessons learned from another World Bank-assisted project.”
The bank was referring to the Philippine Rural Development Project, which was expanded by the scale up project.
“This initiative has been instrumental in strengthening the agriculture and fisheries sectors, bolstering rural infrastructure, and enhancing connectivity. The expansion aims to stimulate further growth in these critical sectors and strengthen the nation’s rural economy,” the World Bank said in a June 2023 statement.
To date, 45 infrastructure subprojects (SPs) have been approved with 35 have started procurement. Around 11 enterprise SPs are still undergoing validation.
The rural scale-up project consists of five components: national and local level planning; rural infrastructure and market linkages; enterprise development; project implementation and support; and contingent emergency response.
The World Bank said it has disbursed $35.95 million or 5.9% of the total loan proceeds.
The closing date of the loan is June 30, 2029.
The Philippine Statistics Authority ranks fisherfolk and farmers among the country’s poorest in 2021, with poverty incidence rates of 30.6% and 30%, respectively. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz