NAGA CITY, CAMARINES SUR – The six-year Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), a development project being implemented by the Department of Agriculture to establish an inclusive, value chain-oriented and climate-resilient agri-fishery sector in the country, is set to end on December 31, 2020. As an exit strategy, the PRDP enterprise development (I-REAP) component will be conducting enterprise assessments to completed I-REAP subprojects. This aims to identify key areas that need technical assistance and support services as the Project disengages from the proponent groups.
A team of PRDP I-REAP consultants nationwide headed by PRDP National Project Coordination Office (NPCO) I-REAP Alternate Component Head Leny Pecson gathered in this city on August 27-30, 2019 for the Training on Enterprise Assessment and Preparation of the Capacity Development Plan for I-REAP subprojects. The training oriented the participants on the assessment tools to be used for the activity prior to its actual roll out. These include the templates for enterprise profiling, enterprise assessment or business enterprise process review, training needs analysis, capacity development plan and implementation and monitoring and evaluation.
The enterprise assessment will evaluate the I-REAP subprojects’ progress in terms of organization and administration, enterprise operation, financial management, marketing, sustainability and inclusivity.
According to Pecson, the enterprise assessment results will serve as a guide to the consultants on which I-REAP subproject to focus on. Also, PRDP will use the enterprise assessment findings complemented with SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis results as basis in the preparation of a Capacity Development Plan, a three-year strategic plan of an enterprise which identifies necessary capability building (training) and non-training like market expansion, product development, financing, and facilities upgrading. Results will be translated into a map which will categorize proponent group enterprises based on their capacity or maturity level.
Pecson underscored that it is very important for the I-REAP team to have a common understanding and common procedures in doing things after subproject approval.
“Through this on-hand information, we can easily determine which enterprise subproject to monitor and which ones need focus and guidance,” Pecson said.
She added that the assessment results can serve as a reference in linking the proponent groups to agencies that offer the interventions and services that they need.
As part of the training, the participants conducted a group field visit and enterprise assessment to the Albay Coco Geonets Manufacturing Enterprise being implemented by the Tunay Tapat Lahing Pilipino Cooperative (TTLPC) in Libon, Albay. Similar activities were conducted at the Camarines Norte Pineapple Trading and Processing Project being operated by the Labo Progressive Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LPMPC) in Labo, Camarines Norte. Key findings of the enterprise assessment were also discussed with the proponent groups for possible recommendations, interventions and activities to meet business plan targets and elevate their enterprises’ operations. As of August 27, 2019, PRDP-Bicol has 25 approved I-REAP subprojects. Fifteen of which were already completed while 10 are under implementation. (Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-RAFIS V)