Philippines, WB sign 600 million USD deal for farming modernisation, illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com

Manila - The Philippine Department of Finance (DOF) has signed a 600-million USD loan agreement with the World Bank (WB) for the country’s modernisation and industrialisation of the agricultural sector.

According to DOF, the pact, signed on July 7, serves the the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Scale-Up, which is geared towards transforming agriculture into a modernised and industrialised sector through public infrastructure interventions and strengthening the commodity value chain.

PRDP Scale-Up, a major initiative of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA), is an expanded response to the persistent challenges confronting the agro-fishery sector and rural communities in the country. In particular, the project will boost farmer and fisherfolk access to markets, increase income from selected agri-fishery value chains, and improve efficiency in the food supply chain.

It will entail direct investments in rural infrastructure and enterprise sub-projects, which will directly benefit about 450,000 farmers and fisherfolk and generate about 42,000 new jobs.