WB Assessing Impact of Antipoverty Program in Mindanao
April 4th, 2010
A team from the World Bank (WB) is now reviewing the antipoverty program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Mindanao .
The WB is assessing the impact of agricultural infrastructure, livelihood, governance reform and environmental projects implemented by the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP APL2).
Jointly funded by the World Bank, the national government and local government units (LGUs), MRDP is a five-year program geared towards uplifting the lives of the poorest of the poor in Mindanao by increasing income of farmers, capacitating women and indigenous peoples, and enhancing local governance and environmental protection.
The three-week review mission started in Davao City last Wednesday, March 24, and regional consultations in the cities of General Santos, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and Butuan will follow in the weeks ahead.
During a workshop in Davao City this week, Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla thanked the World Bank, LGU executives and private-sector partners for working with the DA on this project in pursuit of rural poverty alleviation and national food security.
Fondevilla also cited the program partners for making use of the workshop to thoroughly review the MRDP with an eye on fine-tuning it to make it a truly sustainable, high-impact program.
