The on-going concreting of the 11.74 km road in Compostela Valley is expected to benefit majority of the farmers in different communities in Compostela Valley province as it would connect for the first time the barangays of New Alegria and Gabi in Compostella, and barangays Basak, Magading and Pangutosan in Nabunturan.
Farmers said the situation has changed for the better compared to the old days when the road was non-existent.
The farm-to-market road (FMR) is one of the FMR projects in Mindanao funded under the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) whose aim is to promote infrastructure development. The construction of the road started last August 2016, costing P109.44 million pesos.
‘We want to address our farmers’ problems with transport time and hauling fee,” said Aracelli Morano, PRDP Deputy Project Director.
“We didn’t have a decent road for our carabaos which carry our produce,” narrated Peter Jumigop, one of the farmers in Compostella. He shared that it would take them three days to have their rice threshed. He also added that they did not pay a hauling fee anymore because of the good road.
“We used to pay P15 per sack to the motor drivers to transport our produce,” he said.
The DA-PRDP has been meeting the Basak village chief and other barangay captains in Compostela to ensure the good quality of the road through the establishment of a grievance committee.
“We are thankful of the support of these communities with the construction of this FMR,” Morano said.
Aside from the Nabunturan FMR, Morano announced that PRDP has also been reviewing the concreting project that will connect the barangays in the town of Mawab and Maco by the provincial LGU.
The 11.74km road is set to be finished by next year.
