The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) regional office here and the Visayas State University (VSU) in Baybay City, Leyte will assess the impact of the foreign-funded Fisheries, Coastal Resources and Livelihood (FishCORAL) project implemented in Eastern Visayas from 2016 to 2020.

NEDA Eastern Visayas Regional Director Meylene Rosales said the project was chosen as one of the eight studies across the country with funding of PHP2 million under the NEDA and United Nations Development Programme Philippines for the 2023 capacity development program on impact evaluation.

“The impact evaluation study aims to estimate the impact of the FishCORAL livelihood projects on the income of fishing households in the recipient coastal barangays. It also intends to determine the extent of women’s participation in the livelihood project, among others,” Rosales said in a statement on Friday.

Recently, key officials from NEDA regional office and VSU representatives met to finalize the approach to the study and discuss the partnership between the agency and the school. The study will kick off within the year.

The meeting specifies the evaluation design, timeline of key deliverables, communication and policy advocacy plan, evaluation team composition, budget, and survey questionnaires, among others, for the study on the implementation of the FishCORAL project in the region.

The FishCORAL was a five-year (2016-2020) project jointly funded by the Philippine government, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the concerned local government units.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) implemented the project in 11 bays in Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Caraga, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Those four regions got an allocation of PHP1.86 billion during the five-year implementation. The BFAR has no data available on how much was spent for the Eastern Visayas region.

Of the 11 bays covered by the project, four are in the region. These are Maqueda, Matarinao, Leyte Gulf, and Silago-Cabalian Bays.

The project aimed at reducing poverty among fishermen while strengthening local food and nutrition security in economically challenged coastal communities in four regions.

FishCORAL targeted the covered areas to adopt sustainable management of the fisheries and coastal resources as well as to increase the income of the fishing households through viable engagement in diversified livelihood activities and entrepreneurship. (PNA)