WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3721/98 by Gary TITLEY EU-funded programmes in the Catanduanes province of the Philippines
Date: 1998-11-24
Institutions: European Parliament, TITLEY
Subjects: EU financing, EU programme, Philippines, aid to agriculture, aid to disaster victims, product diversification, production improvement, regional development, rural development, sustainable development













EUR-Lex - 91998E3721 - EN






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91998E3721

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3721/98 by Gary TITLEY EU-funded programmes in the Catanduanes province of the Philippines  


Official Journal C 289 , 11/10/1999 P. 0079 





WRITTEN QUESTION P-3721/98by Gary Titley (PSE) to the Commission(24 November 1998)Subject: EU-funded programmes in the Catanduanes province of the PhilippinesWill the Commission state which EU-funded programmes are currently being undertaken in the island province of Catanduanes in the Philippines?Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission(9 December 1998)The Commission is currently funding one project in the Catanduanes province in the southern part of Luzon (Region V), namely the Cataduanes agricultural support programme (CATAG) (reference ALA/92/38, budget line B7-3000).The programme started in 1994 and was originally intended to run for a period of five years. ECU 10 million have been invested so far, and an additional ECU 5 million have recently been allocated to allow for proper completion by 2002. The implementation is carried out in co-operation with the Department of agriculture (DA) and local farmers' and fishermen's organisations (LGO). The project management office is based in Virac and jointly run by the national and the European co-directors. To assist field operations, four small zone offices are established throughout the island.The aim of the project is to assist rural communities to initiate and sustain increases in output from farming and fishing, thereby enabling them to raise their subsistence incomes and to generate cash surpluses. The programme is based on a community-based, bottom-up sustainable development strategy, linked to the development of viable market-led economic opportunities. The programme focuses firstly on the improvement of rural production methods and infrastructure through the intensification of productivity and diversification of crops, livestock and fisheries, as well as the extension of training services and farmers' associations and secondly on the establishment of an independent and viable self financing institution, to allow members of the local community both to save and to obtain loan finance so as to develop and manage their own resources more efficiently, thus growing into self sustaining entrepreneurs.The programme has successfully been helping to alleviate poverty, generate employment, promote equitable growth and develop environmentally sustainable economic activity in the Catanduanes province. However, a series of typhoons, which hit the Philippines, and particular the most recent and most devastating typhoon Loleng or Bads, which swept the Catanduanes province during 21 and 23 October 1998, caused severe human and material damage. In response the Commission financed an emergency action for the distribution of food and primary necessity items amounting to ECU 700 000 channelled through various European non-governmental organisations.