In the One Eastern Visayas Food Security and Agricultural Development Plan of An Waray Partylist Representative Florencio “Bem” Noel, PCA VIII gets approved budget ceiling of 200M on September 23.

The Regional Directors of DA, BFAR, PhilFIDA and PCA, with Congressman Bem Noel of An Waray Partylist and NEDA representative

The five priority programs and projects are coconut seed farm development project, farm diversification and cash cropping, drip irrigation, direct copra marketing, and capacity building.

The project cost for farm diversification and cash cropping comprise the bulk of the total approved ceiling, which is estimated at 144.6M.

Identification of priority projects, location, and beneficiaries started on early July 2020. This was presented by Department of Agriculture-8 Regional Director Angel Enriquez, to Agriculture Secretary William Dar and House Speaker Allan Peter Cayetano, among others through a virtual meeting.

Gallery view of the virtual meeting participants: Secretary William Dar, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, and Governors and their representatives

PCA VIII Regional Manager Joel Pilapil and PDO IV Erwin Abonales participated in series of meeting-workshops for the region’s food security plan, which was also participated by planning officers of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA).

The budget allotted originally was to cover a three-year program plan but was decreased to cover most of the priority and doable projects by July 2021 only. ### (PCA VIII)