By Iris C. Gonzales Updated March 12, 2009 12:00 AM [ philstar.com ]
MANILA, Philippines - The Japanese government has committed to help the Philippines with three development projects amounting to roughly P30 billlion, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) announced yesterday.
The projects covered by the funding are the Project Forestland Management (ProFORM) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources amounting to P4.52 billion; the Support Program for Agri-Enterprise Development (SPAED) of the Land Bank of the Philippines worth P9.6 billion; and the Logistics Infrastructure Assistance Facility amounting to P16 billion.
The government of Japan made the commitment during a recent meeting with NEDA officials on high-level consultations on yen loan assistance.
NEDA said that ProFORM is a 10-year project that aims to rehabilitate degraded economic conditions of affected communities in the three critical river basins in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3) and Western Visayas (Region 6). The project aims to strengthen forestland management and improve the socioeconomic conditions and the quality of life of upland dwellers.
The project also covers survey and mapping and forest land use planning, community organizing and site development. These includes reforestation, agroforestry, silvopasture and enterprise development. Other areas it covers are agroforestry support facilities, policy initiatives, monitoring and evaluation and project management.
Of the total project amount, around P3.56 billion will be funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) loan. The Philippine government will provide counterpart funding of P956.24 million.
The SPAED project, meanwhile, aims to spur economic growth and improve living conditions by providing new job opportunities and increasing the level of investments, particularly in the private sector and to make available short, medium and long term funds to address the credit needs of key players in the agricultural sector. The project will mostly augment the existing fund supply of Landbank to address the credit gaps of three priority sectors related to agriculture.
These include small farmers and fisherfolks, small and medium scale enterprises and anchor firms and agribusiness enterprises. It will also be used for direct lending and conduits, as well as project management and enhancement of information technology and human resources.
For the SPAED project, the Japanese government will provide roughly P7.70 billion. The rest will be the government’s counterpart.
The LINAF project aims to improve infrastructure which directly impact on prices of basic commodities; stimulate economic activity thru sea links between islands and regions; provide greater mobility for commuters, open up new markets for agricultural products and tourism and raise standards of logistics and distribution system to make the country competitive globally. The project covers the provision of Roll-On Roll-Off vessels, roads, packaging transport and distribution facilities, bulk and cold chain and municipal markets.
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