The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), together with the local government units (LGU) of Aklan, will start the concreting projects on five farm-to-market (FMR) roads in the province.
The FMR improvement projects will directly benefit some 20,000 farmers through ease of transporting their agricultural products to trading centers.
DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III, with Aklan 2nd district Rep. Teodorico Haresco Jr.: Jesry T. Palmares, Undersecretary for Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Office (FASPO); and Atty. Sheila Enciso, DAR Western Visayas regional director, led the project’s groundbreaking ceremony recently.
Eliserio S. Aguelo, an agrarian reform beneficiary (ARB) from Barangay Naile said the FMRs would pave the way for the farmers to immediately transport their products to the market.
“Farmers and residents will no longer have to travel on muddy and slick roads just to go to the town proper. Finally, our dream was realized. Thank you to the DAR,” Aguelo said in a statement.
Estrella said the construction of the FMR is in compliance with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to extend the necessary support services to the farming sector to resuscitate the country’s agriculture industry by improving the flow of food supply.
“This project will change the lives of the ARBs, it will help them gain better prices for their products to improve their income and livelihood,” he said.
Through the FMRs, ARBs would have the advantage of not only experiencing reduced transportation costs and travel time but they will be experiencing faster delivery of various support services from the government, Enciso said for her part.
She disclosed that the FMRs include the P10 million concreting of Brgy. Naile, proper in Ibajay; the P20 million concreting of Tagaroroc FMR in Brgy. Tagaroroc, Nabas; the P10 million concreting of Sta. Cruz-Biga-a in Brgys. Sta. Cruz and Biga-a, Lezo; the P10 million concreting of Aliputos in Brgy. Aliputos, Numancia; and the P10 million concreting of Dangcalan in Barangay Dangcalan, Malinao.