Farmers within the subproject site can celebrate New Year with the completion of the 10.63-kilometer Rehabilitation of the Gonzales-San Juan Farm to Market Road in Umingan, Pangasinan on 31 December 2019.

The Rehabilitation of Gonzales-San Juan FMR is 9.6 kilometers away from the Municipal Hall of Umingan, Pangasinan. It starts at the junction of the Rosales-Cuyapo National Highway and leads to Barangays Gonzales, Prado, Casilan, Luna Weste, Concepcion, and San Juan. It has a total project cost of Php119,270,614.77.

Prior the intervention of the PRDP, the FMR had low grade elevation and poor drainage system resulting to stagnation of floodwater. Flood level along the road line can reach up to 30 centimeters or 11.8 inches during heavy rains and oftentimes causing delay in the transportation of farm inputs and produce to and from the markets.

Tricycle used to be the main public transportation in the subproject area. Commuters could hail one at the junction where the subproject starts. However, tricycles at the junction were not available at night and commuters needed to hire one from the market to go home.

The FMR supports the vast production areas of mango, especially in Barangay San Juan. The direct road influence area holds around 200 hectares of mango trees. Now with an improved road, there is less spoilage in transporting agricultural produce and farmers can negotiate for higher market prices. In addition, the FMR improved the transportation experience of the people from the six barangays covered by the subproject.

“If we compare our travel time in the past…from two at dawn to around eight in the morning… now, it would only take us an hour to reach the highway,” Aurelio Ringor, a resident of Barangay San Juan, happily shared to the Project. Juanita Ringor, also a resident within the subproject site, shared how more buyers have frequented their barangay since the completion of the FMR. “Before, we were the ones who would bring our produce to the market. Now, two or more buyers frequent our barangay because they can see the improvements on the road.”

Last 8 June 2019, the 8th World Bank Implementation Support Mission visited the FMR. The Philippine Rural Development Project will soon conduct an operations and maintenance audit to gauge the impact of the completed subproject to the intended beneficiaries. (Ilocos InfoACE)