CHARM-2 project rating charmed

AGRICULTURE UPDATES
Robert L. Domoguen

BAGUIO CITY -- The rating was charmed. The description refers to the assessment ratings given by the IFAD Supervision Implementation Support team to the CHARM-2 Project after reviewing its operations pursuant to the agreements of the first supervision meeting in April 2010.

The review of the project’s operations was undertaken last March 7-22.

“Overall assessment of project implementation progress is moderately satisfactory,” the team reported during the meeting at the Department of Agriculture, Quezon City, last March 22.

In plain lingo, the team’s rating for the reviewed actions taken by the project thus far, means that implementors and stakeholders need to do more with better results.

The mission team was comprised of Mary Ann Pollisco-Botengen, team leader; Mildred de los Reyes, National Economic Development Authority central office representative and finance specialist; Larry Digal, agribusiness specialist; Clovis Ike Payumo, rural infrastructure specialist, Gregorio Ariz of NEDA-Cordillera as institutional specialist and Yolando Arban, IFAD-Philippines country program officer as monitoring and knowledge management specialist.

Two years gone and five more to go, the CHARM-2 project posted and overall accomplishment of 13 percent versus its global targets.

The team reported the financial performance of the project as follows:
• USD 2.546 million or 4 percent utilization rate of the USD 66.4 million total project cost;
• USD 2.211 million or 8 percent utilization rate of the USD 26.6 million IFAD loan;
• USD 0.2 million or 39 percent utilization rate of USD 0.6 million IFAD grant and,
• P 213 million (63 %) of the total allotment of P 337 million released was obligated while P85 million (24 %) was expended.
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The outputs and outcomes posted by two of project’s five main components: project management and coordination and community watershed conservation, forest management and agroforestry were rated satisfactory by the IFAD SIS Mission Team.

The actions taken by the other two more main components namely: social mobilization, participatory investment planning and land titling; agriculture, agribusiness, and income generating activities had ratings of moderately satisfactory.

The rural infrastructure development component was rated moderately unsatisfactory.
Among other factors, the team reported “the slow implementation progress of the RID component was due to the difficulty of local government units in complying with the required equity counterpart hence only a few could submit proposals with certificate of availability of funds,” the team reported.

Another was difficulty of MLGUs “in complying with the requirements of feasibility studies and detailed engineering documents.

In reviewing the project’s actions, the team visited and consulted with officials and support staff of the project support office; local government units in Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Ifugao and Mountain Province; National Commission on Indigenous Peoples-Cordillera; National Economic and Development Authority-Cordillera; Commission of Audit; Department of Trade and Industry, non-government organizations and project community beneficiaries.

Aside from the overall assessment of project implementation progress, the team also reviewed fiduciary parameters and rated the project’s financial management as moderately satisfactory, disbursement got a rating of unsatisfactory, compliance with loan covenants was satisfactory, while audit was satisfactory.

The mission also took cognizance of measures being taken by the project to ensure sustainability of benefits and impacts after its completion.

To ensure compliance to its recommendations and enhance improved implementation of the project, the mission detailed specific actions to be carried out by the officials and staff of the PSO and all project participating agencies along with the dates of start and completion of agreed actions.

A third IFAD SIS mission is scheduled next year to evaluate compliance to the agreed actions by project implementing agencies.