THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it created a dedicated project management office (PMO) to oversee two World Bank-supported programs.
In Department Order No. 13, the DA consolidated the management of the Philippines Sustainable Agriculture Transformation (PSAT) program and the Technical Assistance for Sustainable Agricultural Transformation (TASAT) project in a single office.
The $1-billion PSAT program, structured as a policy-based loan, links the release of funds to performance targets, while the $24.5-million TASAT project provides technical support for institutional reforms in agriculture.
Both programs are financed through official development assistance from the World Bank.
In a statement on Thursday, the DA said the restructuring is intended to streamline execution and address coordination gaps across multiple units involved in delivering the programs.
“The creation of a unified PMO is critical to ensure that these programs are implemented efficiently, transparently, and in full alignment with our reform agenda,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said in the statement.
Under the new setup, a project director will lead the PMO, supported by a deputy who will handle day-to-day operations and compliance.
The office will also include specialized units tasked with delivering specific reform outcomes tied to disbursement-linked indicators required by the lender.
The units will be supported by technical working groups drawn from across the DA, including divisions handling rice systems, high-value crops, logistics, procurement, and audit functions.
The DA said a project support team will manage finance, procurement, and human resources, with dedicated units expected to help minimize delays that have tended to affect publicly funded projects. — Vonn Andrei E. Vil-lamiel
