Some P4.89 billion were allocated for farm-to-market roads or FMRs in Central Luzon.
The construction and repair of the FMRs will be undertaken by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The agency said the project will be funded under the P33.9-billion budget of the 2026 General Appropriations Bill for FMRs in the region known as the country’s "rice granary."
It will be the first time the agency will undertake FMR projects in the proposed 2026 national budget.
The Senate and the House of Representatives ratified the 2026 General Appropriations Bill on December 29 last year, that transfered the responsibility for new FMRs from the DPWH to the DA.
Under the special provisions of the DA’s proposed P165.5 billion budget, the agency will handle FMR projects.
These include the turning over the management and ownership of completed FMRs to their respective local government units.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the P33.9 billion will be used to construct an estimated 2,750 kilometers of FMRs to help farmers lower production and transport costs.
"This will help bring down food prices. The DA will strengthen its engineering capacity and coordinate closely with local government units and national agencies to ensure projects are completed on time and built to specification," he said.
Laurel estimates that the current cost of building a kilometer of concrete, two-lane FMR averages P15 million per kilometer. "The DA can bring it down by roughly 20 percent using new technologies. The amount can be reduced to P12 million or lower."
In 2024, Central Luzon, comprising the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales got the largest share of the country’s agricultural production value at about 13.7 percent.