RASCP Project Background



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	THE RASCP PROJECT BACKGROUND	view RASCP Completion Report
	PROJECT PURPOSE The loan document pertaining to the Project stipulates that its general purpose was to provide technical assistance for the development of agricultural cooperatives in 96 ARCs originally targeted for assistance under ARISP. Over time, this figure was modified based primarily on the capability and readiness of the subject organizations (cooperatives) to embark on viable business ventures. RASCP-TA was designed to provide an institutional strengthening program for the cooperatives in ARCs. DAR conceptualized the “Technical Assistance to Cooperative Development” in the ARCs to improve their organizational maturity status in order that they would qualify to access capital for their production and trading activities. In this regard the objectives of DAR’s TA dovetails with LBP’s loan assistance program (i.e., LBP’s loan assistance and DAR’s technical assistance) long-term objectives. The TA component of RASCP aimed to develop and enhance the institutional and technical capability of seventy-nine (79) ARB cooperatives in the ARISP-I sites, thereby improving their bankability and profitability. Specifically, it aimed to: 1. Train ARB cooperatives on financial management, credit management and other types of advanced training programs on institutional, technical and enterprise development; 2. Assist the ARB cooperatives in the preparation of project proposals, feasibility studies, business plans, etc., to facilitate credit and in the implementation of identified projects; 3. Provide guidance to the cooperatives in various aspects of management and operation of projects funded under the RASCP ARC Support Credit Sub-loan; 4. Strengthen the capability of program implementers in managing the project; and 5. Develop and install an appropriate M&E system for the TA component of the project. PROJECT SCOPE The TA component followed the institutional development framework for ARCs adopted by DAR that essentially has four (4) development stages. ARISP (Institutional Development Component) covered the social preparation and organization building phases (stages 1 and 2) but extended up to capability building in a number of instances, while RASCP-TA covered the capability building (stage 3) and enterprise development and alliance building phases (stage 4) as shown in the Framework for Institutional Development. Hence, RASCP complemented ARISP-I in developing the farmers’ organizations into bankable cooperatives in seventy-nine (79) ARCs that had initially been provided with institutional development assistance under the Institutional Development Component of ARISP-I. In view of the occurrence of operational problems at the initial stage of project implementation, the number of project sites was reduced to seventy-one (71) ARCs involving seventy-two (72) cooperatives. (Annex 3) The change in the project’s coverage occurred with the de-listing of seven (7) ARCs due to the absence of infrastructure development and/or institutional development component/s in said areas. On the other hand, ten (10) ARCs had replaced the subject organizations due to capability problems while others were substituted with cooperatives which is deemed the most suit-able form of organization to engage in business operation. Except for Sto. Rosario ARC which had two subject cooperatives (Sto. Rosario MPCI and Parulong Kapit-Bisig MPCI) as replacements for St. Isidore MPC, the rest had one subject cooperative per ARC. Moreover, the implementation of RASCP-TA was deferred, in Inolingan ARC because of unforeseen institutional dynamics. Hence, the actual coverage area effectively assisted under the project was further reduced to seventy-one (71) cooperatives spread over seventy (70) ARCs.

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