The Department of Agriculture (DA) is aiming to construct more farm-to-market roads (FMR) across Mindanao to boost the agricultural industry in the region.
The department on Thursday said it is ready to fully take over the program’s implementation by 2026.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement, that the new roads will focus on “chronically underutilized” food production areas, including a proposed PHP2-billion road in Sultan Kudarat that could unlock 32,000 to 35,000 hectares of farmland, and parts of Liguasan Marsh with up to 300,000 hectares of recoverable land.
“Once we build it, like now, we want to put PHP2 billion into a single road in Sultan Kudarat that will open up 32,000 to 35,000 hectares of new farmland,” he said.
Liguasan Marsh was also cited, with about 300,000 hectares of recoverable area.
“These areas aren’t being used now because there’s simply no road,” he added.
Tiu Laurel said the lack of access roads has kept these areas idle, noting that improved farm corridors are vital for the Marcos administration’s long-term food security goals.
Besides the target FMRs, the DA aims to expand access to these farm corridors to post-harvest facilities to further lower production costs and help increase the profit of Filipino farmers.
Under the World Bank–funded Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), local food producers will access cold storage units, dryers, silos, and links to ports and emerging agri-ports facilities. (PNA)