Agriculture Secretary William Dar led the inauguration of the newly-constructed and rehabilitated Namabbalan Norte-Baliuag-Bical-Cabbo farm-to-market road (FMR) with bridge worth Php210-million (M) under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).

The project is located in the southeastern part of Tuguegarao and eastern part of Peñablanca, Cagayan. It is 17.42 kilometer-long with 5 meters carriage width, and 1.5 meter shouldering both sides.

Under the PRDP, the FMR project was cost shared by the province of Cagayan (Php20.06 M), Philippine government (Php20.06 M), and loan grant of Php160.48 M.

The FMR project will benefit 894 households from the four barangays. It aims to reduce transportation/hauling cost of agricultural products by 20 percent from the farm-to-market centers and provide local employment in the 1.280 hectares (ha) Road Influence Area (RIA) during the implementation of the project. It also aims to expand area for corn production by at least 42 ha.

In his message during the inauguration on November 9, 2019, Dar said the project will be more effective if the barangays, where the projects are implemented, will help in the maintenance of the projects. He said the Department of Agriculture (DA) will be able to implement more projects if it is properly maintained.

Dar also announced that the World Bank has added $287 M additional funding for the PRDP.

“Mayroon na kami ugnayan sa World Bank, patapos na ang PRDP at meron ng $870M na ang nagastos all over the country. Kung gusto niyo kami suportahan by all means gagawin namin ang lahat ng makakaya, maganda ang pagplano at pag-implementa ng programa at proyektong ito,” Dar said.

“Ibubuhos ko ang suporta para sa ganoon mas marami pang magawa at mas maging productive at competitive ang sektor ng agrikultura. Gusto ni Pangulong Duterte na yayaman kayo. We always want to do our best para sa ganoon magkaroon ng masaganang ani at mataas na kita,” he added. ### (Kristel Merle, DA-AFID)