PRDP projects to benefit Pangasinan farmers

BANI, Pangasinan -- A tomato trading post facility in Barangay Tugui Grande here is expected to benefit farmers from the first district of Pangasinan and nearby towns once it becomes operational.

Provincial Engineer Antonieta delos Santos, in an interview Saturday, said the project is under the I-Build component of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).

The PRDP is a six-year (2013-2018) initiative of the government envisioned to increase farm and fishery productivity and incomes

in target areas. It seeks to achieve this objective by improving access of farmers and other industry players to a strategic network of infrastructure, market information and support services.

“The contract cost is more than PHP2.885 million, wherein the PHP2.6 million is from the Department of Agriculture while the PHP289,200 is the counterpart of the provincial government of Pangasinan,” she said.

Delos Santos said the facility measures 10 square meters x 15 square meters and is now 30 percent complete.

“It will be used as a stock house for the farmers’ harvested produce and other uses in the future,” she said.

Meanwhile, the 10.63-kilometer Gonzales-San Juan farm-to-market road in Umingan

town, which is also under PRDP, is 73 percent complete as of last May 31.

Delos Santos said the 10-meter wide road project will benefit more than 13,000 residents from Barangays Gonzales, Prado, Casillan, Luna Weste, Concepcion, and San Juan.

“The road area used to be of gravel but now it is smooth, making travel of residents and transport of their goods easier and more comfortable,” she said.

Delos Santos said the World Bank is funding PHP90.116 million or 80 percent of the total project cost, while the provincial government has a counterpart of PHP11.264 million, and the Department of Agriculture, about PHP11.264 million. (PNA)