The Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) in Calabarzon on Thursday announced that it has conducted a meeting with members of the Juan Santiago Agricultural Cooperative (JSACOOP) to discuss the construction of the first major coffee processing facility in this town.

It is projected that the construction of the facility would increase the income of coffee farmers by at least 25 percent in the first year and 31 percent in the 10th year.

In addition, the project will provide jobs to the locals of the town and “give coffee growers a guaranteed market.”

In an emailed reply to the Philippine News Agency’s (PNA) inquiry, the DA-PRDP Regional Project Coordination Office -Calabarzon said the pre-construction meeting was necessary to ensure that the JSACOOP and the contractor signify their willingness to comply with the standards and requirements set by the government for funding infrastructure projects.

“There is no compliance evaluation yet since the construction of the facility is yet to start. But during the construction, the DA-PRDP will conduct inspections to check if they comply with the standards and requirements,” the office said. “The DA-PRDP will also conduct a final inspection at the facility before starting operations.”

The DA-PRDP discussed its processes and requirements that include procurement, social and environmental safeguards, financing, geo-tagging and governance, rural infrastructure standards, and enterprise subprojects.

The planned coffee processing facility is being jointly funded by the JSACOOP and DA-PRDP.

To be constructed in Barangay Juan Santiago, it will measure 150 square meters and will cost PHP5.6 million.

The DA-PRDP further said the facility “is expected to be completed this year.”

Regional Project Director of DA-PRDP Regional Project Coordination Office – Calabarzon, Marcos Aves Sr., said on Thursday the office would continue to cooperate and diligently coordinate with JSACOOP and their contractor to ensure that the facility is built within the timeline and compliant with DA-PRDP standards.

“It is very important to monitor the compliance of projects not only with the DA-PRDP but also with other programs and projects to ensure that they will benefit and help the citizens for a long time,” he said. (PNA)