Capiz has WV's first 'pillar' farm-to-market road project
ROXAS CITY – Capiz has become the first province in Western Visayas to complete a Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) project under the Diversified Farm Income and Market Development Project (DFIMDP) of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Provincial Agriculturist Sylvia De la Cruz said the 4.8-kilometer road project is located in the municipality of Panay headed by Mayor Dante Bermejo and links Poblacion Tabuc in the heart of the town with Barangays Pawa and Buntod.
De la Cruz said it is actually a rehabilitation of the existing road that has been used by local farmers to bring their produce to the market.
The project was started in 2006 and was completed in 2007. It was turned over by DA to the local government unit (LGU) toward the end of the year.
Lilia Peñaranda, DA's Agricultural Program Coordinating Officer for Capiz, said the project cost P5 million with the DA granting financial assistance in the amount of P2 million and the LGU of Panay providing a counterpart fund amounting to P3 million.
DA records showed that the rehabilitation consisted of backfilling and compacting using common borrow and aggregate course materials. The road was widened into 8 meters and was overlaid with gravel one foot higher than the present road elevation.
With the completion of the FMR, about 901 households would be benefited by shortening the travel time from the area to the market by one-third, resulting to a reduction of 5 percent in post-harvest losses.
Furthermore, economic activity in the area was also boosted with six passenger jeepneys already plying the route with various merchants selling their wares in the area.
The Diversified Farm Income and Market Development Project was launched in 2004 and is now a part of DA's Five-Pillar program that is a key component of President Arroyo's Hunger Mitigation Program and thrust to enable Filipinos to enjoy the blessings of a vibrant economy. (PIA)