Department of Agriculture (DA) Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban and Assistant Secretary for Operations Arnel de Mesa discussed with Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone various initiatives to help uplift the lives of farmers and fisherfolk in the province.

Among those discussed during the Governor’s courtesy call was the upcoming P161.6 M project for the improvement and concreting of a farm-to-market road (FMR) connecting the Barangays Burak, Mabuhay, and Bantayan under the  DA – Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).

The Provincial Government of Eastern Samar previously received two completed PRDP projects: the concreting of the Barangay Lapgap-Guindalitan FMR worth P15.9 M and the improvement of the Maytigbao-Balogo FMR amounting to P33 M, which were completed in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

It is also a recipient of the PRDP’s Global Environmental Facility (GEF) grant component, which finances and focuses on biodiversity protection, nature restoration, pollution reduction, and climate change response in developing countries. According to a PRDP release in 2016, GEF initiatives in Eastern Samar include the rehabilitation of Can-Usod and Bulosao Fish Sanctuaries in Lawaan and the Manapag Reef Fish Sanctuary in Guiuan.

Stressing the importance of providing opportunities for growth in the Philippine agriculture sector, both Senior Undersecretary Panganiban and Governor Evardone agreed to prioritize the conceptualization and implementation of agri-fishery-based programs and projects and to ensure that these initiatives reach farmers and fishers in every point of the country. ### (Krystelle Ymari A. Vergara, DA-AFID)