Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph G. Recto has secured financing from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for a project that will help 86 agrarian reform communities in South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City (SOCCSKSARGEN) and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) to fight poverty through value chain innovation and sustainable natural resource management.
“[T]he VISTA [Value Chain Innovation for Sustainable Transformation in Agrarian Reform Communities] project is a holistic and targeted poverty-fighting and sustainable development solution that takes into account the complex realities faced by our 86 agrarian reform communities,” he said in his remarks at the ceremonial exchange of the financing agreement on September 6, 2024.
The VISTA Project aims to reduce rural poverty, strengthen livelihoods, and increase the resilience of targeted poor communities in vulnerable upland areas of the country by strengthening the inclusiveness of value chains and mainstreaming conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources.
It has three components namely: i) ecosystem planning, protection, and enhancement; ii) sustainable value chain development; and iii) project management. This will benefit 52 and 34 Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) in the CAR and SOCCSKSARGEN, respectively.
The project has an estimated total cost of P6.23 billion, of which P4.69 billion (equivalent to EUR 78.62 million or $85 million) will be financed by the IFAD.
