Ilocos Norte has secured about PHP305 million grant from the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) that will be used to finance projects geared towards sustainable agriculture and natural resource management in the next five years.

Hashler Garalde, social and environmental safeguard focal person of the provincial government, confirmed this on Thursday as he shared the highlights of a project proposal they presented to the Climate Change Commission (CCC), which led to the approval of the funding.

“We are glad that our project proposal was approved with funding from the national government. This will be a big help to realize our efforts to build more small water impounding projects and small farm reservoir, to have alternative water irrigation system, soil fertility restoration and to have a climate field school, among others, to enhance our resilience in the face of floods and other environmental challenges,” he said.

Before approval, the province’s proposal underwent series of assessments with the PSF board secretariat and board member agencies to ensure that the project adheres to the climate-responsive standards set by the agency.

CCC representatives even conducted a three-day appraisal in the province to validate reports affecting the province due to climate change.

Established under Republic Act 10174 in 2012, the PSF had an initial capitalization of PHP1 billion to finance adaptation programs and projects of local government units and accredited local and community organizations.

This is the first time that Ilocos Norte province was granted a budget under PSF.

The PHP305,287,000 funding will be downloaded to the provincial government from the Development Bank of the Philippines. (PNA)