Buoyed by the success of the initial stage of a major pro-poor project, the Department of Agriculture is now laying the blueprint for the second phase of the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP).
The MRDP, a World Bank-assisted project, began in 2000 as a poverty-reduction program for rural and indigenous communities in Mindanao. It was implemented in 32 municipalities in the provinces of North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Agusan del Sur, Compostela Valley, and Maguindanao.
“The indicators for a second phase appear to be upbeat, judging from the
good performance of the previous phase,” said Edmund Sana, DA undersecretary for operations, in a statement.
Government remains keen on continuing the program as it “reinforced current initiatives in consolidating the peace effort and poverty alleviation in Mindanao,” continued Sana, who oversees all strategic foreign-assisted DA programs nationwide.
Quoting internal documents, Sana added that the World Bank itself felt that the MRDP “was successful in meeting its development objectives.”
Among the reasons cited for its success was the smooth implementation of its livelihood projects, which benefited some 37,000 poor households. Nearly half of these were women; 22 percent belonged to indigenous communities.
Arnel de Mesa, MRDP OIC, reported that 70 percent of the program’s
beneficiaries were able to better feed their families. This meant being able to provide for three square meals a day, compared to an average of only two before the program began.
De Mesa also bared that over the five-year period, 700 kms. of farm-to-market roads were rehabilitated (from a target of 460 kms.). This was in addition to improving over 5,700 hectares of communal irrigation systems (compared to a target of 5,000 hectares)
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