Date Published: December 17, 2024

The proposed 3.7-kilometer improvement of the Burgos-Salazar farm-to-market road (FMR) with a 27-meter concrete bridge by the municipal government of Carranglan, Nueva Ecija received the approval of the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) Central Luzon Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB) during the deliberation held on November 28, 2024 at the DA Regional Field Office III building in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga.

According to the subproject’s feasibility study, upgrading the said FMR from a substandard gravel road to a safe and climate-resilient concrete road will give the 5,700 total population of Barangay Burgoz and Salazar better economic access. It will primarily support the agricultural production of aromatic and pigmented (AP) rice, corn, and other high value crops, uplifting the livelihood of farmer beneficiaries in the area.

The Burgos-Salazar FMR was among the areas included in the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan to be proposed for improvement. This was derived from the results of the Expanded Vulnerability and Suitability Assessment (E-VSA) of AP rice in Nueva Ecija which ranked the municipality of Carranglan as second most suitable for its production yet still vulnerable to natural and socio-economic conditions.

Based on the information gathered by the Municipal Agriculture Office, farmers commonly use carabaos to haul their inputs and their produce from the field along the gravel road to a pick-up point accessible to the vehicles of traders. This hauling system cost farmers about Php186 per sack. However, the improvement of the FMR is expected to reduce the cost to Php84 per sack as it will reduce the hauling distance for the farmers and consequently moving the traders’ pick-up points closer to the production area.

Furthermore, the poor road condition affects the quality of the delivered commodities thus lowering market prices. The upgrading of the FMR is also seen to reduce the transport loss of different commodities by two to five percent. The whole community will also benefit from the subproject by reducing travel time along the FMR from 60 minutes to only 20 minutes.

The RPAB signed the resolution endorsing the Php108-million road subproject to the project’s National Project Advisory board for its issuance of the No Objection Letter 1 for funding under the PRDP Scale-Up. The subproject will be funded with a cost sharing scheme of 80-10-10 from the World Bank loan proceeds, Philippine Government, and the Carranglan Municipal Government, respectively.

The RPAB consists of representatives from other relevant national government agencies in the region such as the Department Public Works and Highways, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Interior Local Government, the DA – Regional Agri-Fishery Council and the DA-PRDP Regional Project Director Arthur Dayrit serving as its chairperson. ##