DAVAO CITY: Some 850 farmers will directly benefit from two newly completed farm-to-market roads (FMRs) amounting to nearly PHP57 million, the Department of Agriculture in Davao Region (DA-11) said Friday.

The projects are the 2.3-kilometer Sitio Mingly to Sitio Upper Egay road in Barangay Biao Escuela, which costs PHP44.8 million, and the one-kilometer road in Barangay Tagakpan, Tugbok District, amounting to PHP11.7 million, according to a DA news release.

The road projects, which both opened on June 5, are funded by DA-11 under the FMR Development Program in 2021 and 2023 and implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways-11.

DA-11 Director Macario Gonzaga said the FMRs are part of the government agenda to promote food security and empower rural communities.

‘The FMRs directly benefit our farmers through reduced post-harvest losses, travel time, and hauling cost,’ he said.

Village chiefs Romeo Lao and Joel Juntong of Barangays Biao Escuela and Tagakpan, respectively, expressed their gratitu
de to the government for providing their communities with access roads, which will improve people’s livelihoods.

Source: Philippines News Agency