DA announces conduct of WB-ISM to Phl Rural Dev't Project

The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Sunday the three-week conduct of the 17th World Bank (WB) Implementation Support Mission (ISM) to the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) and the second WB ISM to the PRDP Scale-Up, set to commence on Monday, to evaluate the two agri-projects implementation performance and progress.

According to DA, during the ISM, WB will be reviewing the department's projects' compliance with the agreed actions from the previous mission and evaluating their financial management, disbursement, and procurement.

This will also allow the international financial institution to oversee the remaining investments under the Second Additional Financing with the European Union Grant and evaluate the implementation of the Institutional Strengthening Action Plan.

The ISM is set to kick off with the opening of the DA-PRDP Exhibit at the DA Central Office in Quezon City, which will showcase its ten-year evolution and major accomplishments.

From 23 April to 26 April, a series of technical discussions will be held between the WB and the PRDP components and units, which the DA said will focus on key thematic areas including financial management, knowledge management and communication, monitoring, and evaluation of subprojects, and mainstreaming of PRDP innovations.

In the second week, the DA-PRDP and WB will visit the Investments in Rural Enterprise and Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity (I-REAP) and Intensified Building-Up of Infrastructure and Logistics for Development (I-BUILD) subprojects in Visayas and Mindanao.

A total of seven subprojects will be visited, of which four are in Bohol and three are in the Davao Region.

From 7 May to 8 May, an agriculture digital solutions roundtable discussion with agri-tech and fintech companies will take place.

The 17th PRDP and second PRDP Scale-Up WB ISM will culminate on 9 May where the WB will be presenting its findings, recommendations, and overall performance rating of the reviewed projects.