Local monitoring improves livelihood projects

Wednesday 18th of July 2012

MATI CITY, Davao Oriental, July 18 -- Beneficiaries of the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) in the locality were trained on community-based monitoring to effectively manage their livelihood projects.

Recently, Mati City had been adjudged as one of the best performing local government units (LGUs) that implemented the livelihood projects of the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP).

MRDP is a special project of the Department of Agriculture jointly funded by the World Bank, the national government and LGUs.

“Before we implement MRDP projects we are doing social preparations to better equip beneficiaries in handling project,” said city mayor Michelle Rabat.

“We are also strengthening the CBMEG (community-based monitoring and evaluation group) to improve monitoring of the projects,” she said.

CBMEG is mechanism introduced by MRDP to involve the community in monitoring and evaluation of its projects. The program hopes that through the process, community ownership of the project will be strengthened.

In the animal dispersal project for instance, CBMEGs in the city had identified implementation bottlenecks and explored ways to better address them.

“Most of the animal dispersal projects are short-lived as livestock such as goats and cattle are can be easily disposed or sold. There are times that they will report during wee hours that it has been bitten by a snake or was stolen and the monitoring team can no longer check,” said Barangay Libudon chair Juliet Pialan.

Pialan, who also heads the CBMEG in their barangay, said they have agreed that repayment of livestock dispersal recipient should be in the form of cash instead of the usually animal offspring.

“With this, recipients will be accountable for the project they have availed themselves of. No more alibis and excuses,” she said.

Cyrus Barabas of the Kaluparan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative (KARBECO) said that extensive monitoring sets MRDP apart from other projects they have availed themselves of.

KABERCO is a recipient of P250,000 cattle dispersal project where most of the members have already vast experience being cowboys from a private stock farm.

“The project has given us the right to select projects that suits our need and we are the ones doing the procurement process but the focal persons are also closely monitoring us not only on how we disburse the funds but also on how we can sustain our project,” he said.

Eleanor Sambas of the city agriculture office said the city government will be also applying the CBMEG concept not only with MRDP projects but also in other development project. (DA-MRDP/Noel T. Provido)