World Bank lines up $500-M agri projects

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the World Bank (WB) has committed to fund four big-ticket projects aimed at enhancing agri-fishery extension systems, providing livelihood assistance to fisherfolk and indigenous peoples (IP) and updating the national farmers registry system.

“Within our first 100 days in office, we received the World Bank’s nod to bankroll several projects that highlight our ‘new thinking’ for agriculture,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.

“The proposed projects are on top of the extension of the current World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Project worth $280M,” he added.

The proposed projects include the: $200-million provincial agricultural and fishery extension delivery system; $200-million coastal resilience and fisheries development project; and $100-million Mindanao inclusive agriculture development project.

The first project is a new proposal, while the last two are being evaluated by the WB.

The DA also proposed to update and enhance the registry system for basic sectors in agriculture that will contain, among other information, a reliable list of legitimate farmers and fishers nationwide.