Gladness is etched into the weary face of 78-year-old Romualdo Tik-ing upon hearing the news of near completion of the San Agustin Canmaya-Diot farm-to-market road (FMR) in Sagbayan, Bohol.
Tik-ing, an industrious farmer in barangay Canmaya Centro, is just one of the 2,000 beneficiaries projected to embrace change with the concretion of the road.

During his usual tending at the farm for the corn planting season come September, he looked back at how life used to be.

Romualdo Tik-ing who farms for as long as he remembers, considers farming as his LIFE.

“Sauna aron madala ang among produkto sa sentro amo balsahon, sa di pa isakay sa habal-habal padung merkado karon nga naa nay dalan, makakugi ko’g maayo kay di naman lisud,” said Tik-ing.

(We used to transport our goods to the centro by means of balsa, a carabao driven carriage prior to transferring it to a motorcycle taxi which will then transport the goods to the markets. Now, with the road at hand, I am more encouraged to triple my work since transporting is already an ease.”)

Way back, Tik-ing recalled that transporting goods takes an hour just to reach the market. Citing the road rehabilitation in their place, he noted that the travel time has been reduced from 10 to 15 minutes.

“Nalipay kaayo ko nga gitrabaho ang dalan sa among lugar, gani nakapalit ko ug baka ug nakapaayo kos akong balay,”  he added.

(“I am very happy with the road concretion; I was able to buy a cow and even have my house fixed.”)

In time, he sees a much improved way of living for all farmers residing within the four barangays connected by the FMR.

Meanwhile, words of gratitude overflowed from the mouth of Barangay Captain Eulogio Appari from Canmaya Centro with how the road brought economic changes to his area.

According to him, the road has balanced with what he thought was their biggest loss after their province was struck by an earthquake three years ago.

“Bisan ug nawala ang among lapad nga kahumayan nunot sa kalamidad, mapasalamaton gihapon mi tungod ning dalan makapangita ra gihapon mi ug alternatibo nga mga panginabuhian gawas nga mapadali ang among produktong mais ngadto sa kamerkadohan,”  Appari explained.

(“Despite the incident, we are still very thankful for this road as it ensured faster transportation of our corn product and will open other opportunities for income generating livelihood.”)

Other products in the area such as copra have also felt the change they have long yearn for.

Barangay Captain Erwin Capa from Barangay Kagawasan said that farmers in their area used to pay P 30 per sack as transportation fee just to have their products delivered to the town. Now that the road is nearing its completion, vehicles can directly speed off to the farms to pick up the goods at no extra cost.

 “50% ang pasaka sa income sa mga farmers di na sila magpanagana sa pagpananom kay paspas naman ang pagtrasport sa produkto,” said Capa.

(“I am looking at 50 % increase in income due to the easy transport of the farmers’ goods, encouraging them to plant without worries or even hesitation.”)

Meanwhile, Barangay Captain Glen Samputon of Barangay Diot, credited the Philippine Rural Development Project in helping Sagbayan take shape as a more productive venue to farmers.

“My heartfelt gratitude to the World Bank and the Department of Agriculture for making this road a reality for all of our farmers,” said Samputon.
Sagbayan is among the municipalities in Bohol that continues to recover after being badly hit by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake last 2013 causing severe damage to major rice fields and infrastructures. (Bexmae P. Jumao-as, DA-PRDP RPCO 7, InfoACE Unit)