Project Information

The ARCCESS is a support service delivery mechanism of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) which aims at contributing to the overall goal of rural poverty reduction especially in agrarian reform areas It lays various mechanisms for economic efficiency of lands which were subdivided in small hectares and distributed to multi owners. It supports social justice or asset distribution while addressing the issue of economies of scale. The project design envisions the organization of ARBs and smallholder farmers into organized enterprises, leads to the benefits of economies of scale, improves ARBOs bargaining power, and is envisioned to enhance net income and asset savings of ARBOs and ARBs.

The project is premised on building the capacity of ARBO to become the hub of support services to other ARBs and small farmers in expanded areas of enterprise operation. The successful ARBOs would be provided technical and management assistance to enable them to scale-up and/or replicate their enterprise. This effort is to contribute to improved efficiency in land and CSF management. ARCCESS shall build on the capacity of ARBOs to manage the production, post-harvest and processing needs of individual members, directed towards consolidating their farm produce and in the process reach economies of scale.

The ARCCESS project provides support services to ARBOs mostly through trainings and rural infrastructure. The capacities of ARBOs in running agri-enterprise require continuous process of training, coaching, follow through efforts and processing of experiences. It provides strategic and sustainable support services in the form of common service facilities (CSFs), agricultural technologies and extension services, business development services, and training and supervision of community-based enterprise organizers (CBEOs) so that ARBs can maximize productivity of awarded lands and engage in agri-related enterprises. The ARCCESS delivery is channeled through organizationally mature ARBOs that will serve as center of support services to the ARBOs in the community.

Developed by DAR Provincial Offices in consultation with the ARBOs and other stakeholders, the sub - projects went through third party Needs Assessment and Design Assessment. The project involves 233 sub - projects nationwide. Every sub-project is designed for implementation over a period of two (2) years depending on the needs of the ARBOs and on the agri-market opportunities in the areas.

In summary, the ARCCESS Project is envisioned to improve the economic well-being of men and women in agrarian reform areas through improved performance of ARBOs in managing enterprises. These would be attained through increased knowledge and skills of ARBOs in agricultural technologies and enterprise development and enhanced ARBO capacities to engage the market. Outputs consist of relevant trainings, ARBO plans, provision of manuals and development of monitoring and evaluation plan including tools, reports and database. Inputs consist of the provision of CSFs, agri-technologies and agri-extension services, training and mentoring program for CBEOs, and conduct of M & E .

Monitoring team assessed the service delivery of firms hired to provide agri-extension, business development, and CBEO training to ensure successful ARCCESS implementation.

Monitored the progress and process of support service delivery to ARBOs in terms of the following: a) achievement of results (outputs) versus targets; b) quality of results (outputs); c) methods and processes of service delivery that lead to the delivery of results; and d) performance of PSPs as determined by ARB level of satisfaction

Monitored project performance in terms of: cost-effectiveness of results, relevance of results, sustainability of results, the partnership approach, appropriateness of the design, appropriateness of utilization, and informed and timely action

Identified lessons learned, good practices, and any particular challenges in the implementation of the project

Provided recommendation for successful ARCCESS implementation for expansion/replication/scaling up/future programming of the DAR and other government agencies on rural enterprise development and