PRRM IN NUEVA ECIJA

The Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), one of the oldest and largest non-government organizations in the Philippines, was established in July 17, 1952. Its pioneering work in rural development started in Nueva Ecija, the country’s hotbed of agrarian unrest, where its first batch of rural reconstruction workers held their graduation rites on April 5, 1954 in Barrio Galvan, Guimba with no less than Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay as the guest of honor.

PRRM follows a 4-fold approach for its rural development program: livelihood to combat poverty, education to combat ignorance, health to combat disease, and governance to combat civic inertia. Through the years, natural resource management was included to respond to the issue of environmental degradation.

This approach is reflected today in Nueva Ecija through a sustainable rice-based farm systems development program with following components: land tenure improvement and security, participatory technology development in sustainable agriculture, social enterprise development through alternative rural financing and marketing, and policy reform and advocacy. This program is called the alternative production pattern on APP.

The APP has been widely recognized as a viable model for sustainable rice production and has been cited in 1997 by the United Nations Development Program as one of the ten best practices in the implementation of the Philippine Agenda 21. A scaled-up model called rice intensification as an enterprise development approach for small farmers won a grand prize at the first ever World Bank-sponsored Development Innovation Marketplace in 2004.

Today, PRRM in Nueva Ecija is a recognized leader in sustainable agriculture practice and advocacy which is showcased in various models being demonstrated by Kalipunan ng mga Magsasaka para sa Likas-Kayang Sakahan (Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Agriculture in Nueva Ecija) or KALIKASAN-NE and the Kooperatibang Likas ng Nueva Ecija (Sustainable Cooperative of Nueva Ecija) or KOOL NE.

PRRM’s contact details are:

SHUBERT L. CIENCIA (Area Manager)
PRRM Compound, Bukang Liwayway Bantug

Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija, Philippines (3119)

Telefax: +6344 456 0713

Email: slciencia2004@yahoo.co.uk

Website: www.prrm.org

(This article was contributed by HONEYLET S. MACMAC, a senior Development Communication student from Central Luzon State University. The photos used were provided by the PRRM Library in Nueva Ecija).