P9.06-B farm-to-market road program to cover 5 Luzon regions

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The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have signed a memorandum of agreement for P9.06 billion worth of farm-to-market road (FMR) projects covering five regions in Luzon.

The program will cover 605 FMR projects with a combined length of 604 kilometers in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and the Cordillera Administrative Region, the DA said.

“The government also employs infrastructure monitoring mechanisms and a digital portal to track project implementation and project status as the road program moves from planning to construction,” the DA said in a statement.

“Beyond moving farm products, improved roads can connect producers to traders, processors, and consumers while enhancing access to services and economic opportunities in rural communities,” it added.

The P9.06-billion program translates to an average cost of about P15 million per kilometer.

The new road projects come as the proposed P198.45-billion budget for the DA in 2027 includes P16 billion for FMR projects, half of the P33 billion allocation for the program in the 2026 budget.

The Department of Agrarian Reform earlier said 537 FMR projects had been completed since the start of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration in 2022.

The completed projects cover a total distance of 435.807 kilometers and supposedly benefit 155,123 agrarian reform beneficiaries.— MCG, GMA News

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