P140M road to improve agri production in DavSur town
A TOTAL of 4,054 hectares of agricultural land is expected to be more productive with the upcoming concreting of access road connecting barangays Barayong, Mabini, Bala and Upper Bala in Magsaysay, Davao del Sur.
The 12-kilometer farmto-market road (FMR) amounting to P140 million is a subproject of the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) in cooperation with the provincial and municipal government.
Speaking during the recent ground breaking ceremony, Magsaysay Mayor Arthur Davin said all residents, specially the farmers within the road influence area will benefit from the project after its completion.
"The travel time and cost of the farmers in hauling their farm inputs and produce will be reduced by 50 percent thus augmenting their income," Davin said, adding that off-farm benefits are also expected such as easy transport for teachers and students of Barayong National High School.
"Today's event is a sign of progress. And it is only possible with the total commitment and cooperation of those who are concerned for the progress and development of our province and its municipalities," said Davao del Sur Governor Douglas RA. Cagas while addressing project beneficiaries.
DA OIC-Regional Director Ricardo M. Oñate, Jr. is optimistic that the implementation of the road conreting project will help carry out the agency's mandate of making food available and affordable food for Filipinos.
Oñate, who is also the PRDP deputy project director for Mindanao, said better roads links farmers' produce to the market with lesser post harvest losses thus also help increase their income.
The major sources of income of some 14,000 beneficiaries are from commodities such as rice, coconut, cacao, corn, banana, mango and rubber which are produced from the direct road
With the improvement of the road network, transportation cost for farm inputs and outputs will be decreased, thereby increasing farmers' land productivity and income.
PRDP is a special project of the Department of Agriculture (DA) funded by the World Bank, the national and local government units through counterparting.