THE Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), has completed the concreting of P462 million farm-to-market road (FMR) project in Zamboanga del Norte.
Reynaldo Campomanes, DA officer-in-charge and regional executive director, said the FMR project, with a length of 32.27 kilometers, links the municipalities of Kalawit and Labason in Zamboanga del Norte.
The DA officially turned over the newly completed FMR project to the provincial government of Zamboanga del Norte on Friday, July 7. It is the longest-ever concreted FMR.
“The road is now turned over to the PLGU (Provincial Local Government Unit) Zamboanga del Norte but the greater responsibility is on how to maintain this in order to lengthen its use,” Campomanes said.
“With good maintenance practices, it would double its use and with the government’s limited resources, it is a must to maintain this (FMR),” he added.
He said the newly concreted FMR project provided a shorter route from the previous traditional route from Labason to the town of Ipil, the capital of Zamboanga Sibugay.
“The project will benefit not only by the people from Kalawit and Labason but those living in the nearby municipalities, as well,” he said.
“Agricultural goods from (the towns of) Siocon, Baliguian, and Gutalac can be transported to the major markets through this road,” he added.
Zamboanga del Norte Governor Rosalina Jalosjos, who was represented by former Congressman Cesar Jalosjos during the turnover of the project, expressed her gratefulness to DA-PRDP for another milestone of success for the province, especially for the municipalities of Kalawit and Labason.
“The turnover of this project signifies another living proof of continued progress of the province in terms of infrastructure and rural development which we badly needed,” the governor said.
She noted that the newly completed FMR provides convenience, especially to the farmers, who struggled for many years in transporting their agricultural products to the market.
Zamboanga del Norte being the second of the poorest province in the country, Jalosjos said that the DA-PRDP FMR served as guide to the provincial government to continuously nurture and to maintain in order to provide a safe and prosperous living condition of its people.
Kalawit Mayor Salvador Antojado, Jr., on the other hand, regarded the concreted FMR as a blessing for the people of his town to take good care of.
“We, commit to maintain the good condition of the road,” he said with hopes to avail of another subproject from DA-PRDP.
Labason Municipal Councilor Pearl Ann Cabading, on behalf of her fellow Labasonians, committed to helping maintain the good condition of the road as it greatly helps to the development of their municipality.
On behalf of the seven villages of Kalawit that benefitted from the project, Daniel Maing Village Chief Leonila Masugbo expressed their collective commitment to take good care of their road.
Masugbo said they may lack funds to cover the repair and maintenance expense, but she pledged to institute a ‘bayanihan system’ in cleaning up the road shoulders and removal of road obstructions.
The P462 million project was completed with 10 percent counterpart fund from the provincial government of Zamboanga del Norte.
The PRDP is a six-year program designed to establish the government platform for a modern, climate-smart and market-oriented agri-fishery sector.
PRDP will partner with the local government units and the private sector in providing key infrastructure, facilities, technology, and information that will raise incomes, productivity, and competitiveness in the countryside. (SunStar Zamboanga)