AGRICULTURE Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. is mounting an aggressive push to expand farm-to-market roads (FMRs) across Mindanao, saying long-isolated agricultural zones could finally be brought into the country’s food supply chain once connected to commercial centers.
In a statement, Laurel said that as the Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to regain full control of the FMR program in 2026, the agency is preparing road projects aimed at opening some of the country’s most promising but chronically underdeveloped food-producing regions.
High on the list are vast tracts of land in Sultan Kudarat and the expansive Liguasan Marsh.
“Once we build it—like now—we want to put P2 billion into a single road in Sultan Kudarat that will open up 32,000 to 35,000 hectares of new farmland,” Laurel said, stressing that these areas remain idle largely because they lack road access.
The DA chief said Liguasan Marsh may hold even greater potential, with as much as 300,000 hectares recoverable if road networks are established.
To maximize the impact of these new corridors, Laurel said the DA plans to integrate post-harvest infrastructure under the World Bank–funded Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).
He said cold storage facilities, grain dryers, silos, and logistics links to ports and emerging agri-ports are all part of the package, investments deemed crucial to lowering production costs and boosting farmer incomes.
In preparation for the expanded mandate, the DA has set up a dedicated FMR unit and is developing a transparency system that includes time-lapse monitoring cameras, a public FMR portal, and agreements with farmer cooperatives—measures aimed at improving oversight and preventing project delays.
“It’s not rocket science to build a farm-to-market road,” Laurel said.
“But we need people’s help to monitor those projects. Technology will also help,” he added.
He acknowledged that navigating political pressures will be unavoidable, noting that local and national politicians routinely lobby for road projects in their areas, even as the national master plan identifies a 60,000-kilometer backlog while available funds cover only about 2,000 kilometers next year.
“It’s really a negotiation. We have to filter because the budget is never enough,” said Laurel.
Despite these constraints, Laurel remains confident that Mindanao’s farm corridors will play a central role in strengthening long-term food security.
“These roads are in front of the people—they will be used,” Laurel said.
“And once they open new farmlands, the whole country benefits,” he added. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)