THE World Bank has seen the 15.46-percent rise in income of Mindanao’s poor as a positive effect of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) rural program.

WB lead rural development specialist Carolina Figueroa-Geron told reporters in a press briefing held recently in Davao City that the DA’s Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) has contributed to the increase in income of its beneficiaries who are mostly small farmers and fisherfolk. 

Geron said that the baseline income of P71,822 in 2007 has increased to P82,926 by midterm implementation of MRDP.

“Despite the 18-month hiatus on the earlier part of the program, the MRDP is almost on-track in its implementation but has exceeded a number its targets as of midterm,” Geron said.

In terms of household income, the program targets an increase of at least seven percent higher than the baseline by midterm.            

Program Director Lealyn Ramos said the strong partnership of the local government units (LGUs) and the program’s holistic approach to development has seen positive results in the rural community.

“Aside from the program’s design of holistic approach to development, we owe this feat to the strong support of the local chief executives who are at the forefront of project implementation,” Ramos said.

The program has a total fund of $123.57 million for its four major components: Rural Infrastructure (RI) which implements agri-infra critical to enhance productivity like irrigation, farm-to-market roads, bridges, potable water supply, pre- and postharvest facilities; the Community Fund for Agricultural Development (CFAD) that provides resource-based livelihood activities; Natural Resources Management (NRM) that puts in place environment conservation mechanisms; and Investment for Governance Reform, which prepares and enables LGUs to deliver basic services.

The program also emphasizes the critical role of the LGUs in terms of the delivery of services to the community as part of the government’s aim of devolution and further support the modernization of agriculture and fishery sector.

With the infrastructure and livelihood projects now operational, the beneficiaries are earning from both farm and non-farm incomes.

 The farm income of P40,093 from the baseline data has increased to P50,869 by midterm while income from nonfarm activities rose to P32,082 from P31,729.

“As roads have become more accessible, farmers are able bring in more inputs, cultivate more farm lands to expand production which in turn increase their yield and boost income,” Ramos said.    

She added that farmers also earned from value-adding and saved in hauling cost.

“In addition more sari-sari stores are opening up, more jeepneys and motorcycles are plying the route of these previously inaccessible barangays,” she added.

 As an offshoot of the impressive impact of the program, Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala is keen on replicating MRDP in the Visayas and the southern part of Luzon through the Central Philippines Development Program (CPRDP).

“Together with the World Bank team, we have begun preparatory work for the replication of the MRDP in Central Philippines. Several features of the MRDP are being analyzed by the feasibility study preparation team,” said Alcala.

The department is eyeing about $200 million for this proposal to further enhance farm productivity and provide easy access to markets for the islands in central Philippines.