Cabadbaran, City | The Department of Agriculture Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) Regional Project Coordinating Office 13 (RPCO 13) together with the Provincial Project Management Implementing Unit (PPMIU) and Barangay Officials of the P148 million 9.2 km Concreting of Bay-ang – Mahaba Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) with 35.80 linear meter bridge in Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte.

These inspection and monitoring activities are being conducted to ensure that all on-going construction and project implementations follow the standards set by DA-PRDP to the contractors.

The project is now 65% completed.

It starts at Barangay Bay-ang and will connect to the national highway going to Surigao City, Butuan City, and to other major provinces, and municipalities, and cities in Mindanao where major market centers and trading are located.

Prior to this project, the poor road conditions in the said community resulted in higher transportation costs in bringing their produce to the trading centers. They also had to endure post-harvest losses as a result of damaged crops.

Completed portions of the 9.2 km Concreting of Bay-ang – Mahaba Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) in Cabadbaran City is now being used by locals in the community. (Photo by RPCO 13)

DA-PRDP together with the City Government of Cabadbaran hopes that this project will address the issues on transportation and will bridge the gap between farmers and their target market. This road will soon provide easy flow and access of transportation for people, goods and services in order to raise their socio-economic standard of living and eventually contribute to the overall progress of the populace.

The road project’s specific objectives are to reduce average travel time from 40 minutes to 20 minutes in transporting farm produce; to lower transportation costs from P2.00 per kilo to P1.00 in traversing the three barangays and adjacent communities to and from Cabadbaran City Proper; to increase farm productivity and income; to alleviate poverty in the Road Influence Area/Barangay; to advance rural development and agricultural marketing opportunities; to increase traffic count by 2.4% every five years; to reduce post harvest-losses in transporting the products by 2%; and to generate additional employment within the road influence area (110 skilled workers; 68 unskilled workers).

This farm-to-market road project is under the Intensified Building Up of Infrastructure and Logistics for Development (I-BUILD) which aims to put in place strategic and climate-resilient rural infrastructures along the priority value chains.

This Project is jointly funded by the World Bank, the National Government and the City Government of Cabadbaran. (With Reports from InfoACE 13/ Joy Montecalvo)