Pinoy farmers' income up by 20%

Filipino farmers' income has increased by 20 percent as a result of World Bank-funded projects under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), with the country receiving a satisfactory rating on the implementation of the $600 million loan project.

In a chance interview with reporters, World Bank task team leader Mio Takada said the Department of Agriculture (DA) has achieved more than its target in PRDP's implementation.

'The overall performance is very good. We have the opportunity to visit Mindanao and the Visayas. We have seen very strong commitment from farmers, enterprises and local government units and we saw that there was a tremendous success really in achieving more than the targets,' Takada said.

The $600-million World Bank loan entered its 10th year of implementation, starting in 2014 and ending on July 31, 2025.

'They achieved an increase in the farmer income, almost 20 percent already. We have seen cases where their market value has increased more than doubled,' Takada added.

The DA linked agricultural commodities to markets and raised the market value of farm products, she noted.

Increasing private sector participation is among the World Bank's recommendations, Takada said.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary for operations U-Nichols Manalo welcomed the 'satisfactory positive rating for this 17th mission and the second PRDP scale-up mission.'

PRDP projects cover infrastructure subprojects and farm-to-market roads that lead to key agricultural production areas, Manalo noted.