Completed roads boost farmers' productivity
The farmers' productivity is now expected to be higher with the completion of around 134 farm-to-market (FMR) roads across the country.
Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane of the Department of Public Works and Highways said these newly completed infrastructure projects will not only help speed up traveling time of delivering commodities but will also prevent spoilage of agricultural products which in turn maximizes the harvest potential of the farmers.
These 134 farm-to-market road projects are being implemented by the DPWH District Engineering Offices and funded by the Department of Agriculture and Department of Agrarian Reform as part of PGMA's poverty and hunger alleviation thrusts.
For this year 2007, the DPWH has a total of 151 FMR projects where the DA allocated a total of P200 million for the 84 FMR while the DAR has allocated a total of P100 million for the 67 FMR.
The said road projects, according to Ebdane, are also coordinated with the National Anti Poverty Commission (NAPC) program in fighting poverty by improving the countries infrastructure facilities in agricultural areas to assure immediate delivery of agricultural products in market areas.
"The NAPC together with the local government units identifies the critical poverty areas and designates the location of the needed farm to market roads to assure the project would benefit majority of the farmers and hunger stricken areas," said Ebdane. (PIA)