LIBMANAN, CAMARINES SUR – A year after its completion, the six-kilometer Rehabilitation of San Isidro to Pag Oring Nuevo Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) funded by the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) reduced the travel time of the residents within the road influence area by 38%.

In the Rapid Appraisal of Emerging Benefits (RAEB) conducted by the PRDP National Project Coordination Office (NPCO), Project Support Office (PSO) South Luzon and Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (M&E) on April 22-26, 2019, findings showed that the subproject (SP) exceeded its objective of attaining an average of 23% reduction in travel time.

RAEB is an evaluation initiative of the Project management that focuses on determining the success of individual SP and its relevance to the Project Development Objectives.

Moreover, various PRDP staff and their counterparts in the Provincial Project Management and Implementation Unit (PPMIU) of Camarines Sur conducted key informant interview (KII) with the Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU); household surveys to farmer-beneficiaries; and KIIs and focus group discussion with farmers, barangay officials, traders, and Project Affected Persons.

The P44.28 million FMR was completed on April 30, 2018 and the first accomplished PRDP infrastructure development (I-BUILD) SP in Bicol that projected to benefit 1,514 households and 7,287 individuals.

Coconut and livestock farmer and Barangay Pag-Oring Nuevo Councilor Rhoderick Alvaro attested that the FMR helped hasten the transportation of agricultural products and made travelling more comfortable for commuters.

“Isa po sa mga pagbabagong idinulot ng proyekto ay napabilis ang transportation. Kumbaga, dati one hour kapag balikan, ngayon po 30 minutes na lang. Hindi na rin gaanong bugbog sa byahe ang katawan ng mga byahero lalung-lalo na nung mga sumasakay sa motor o habal- habal di tulad noong lubak-lubak pa ang kalsada at abala ang byahe. Ngayon po mas maganda na ang pagbabyahe kasi hindi na paalon-alon ang kalsada (One of the changes that the project has brought was the transportation speed. It reduces a round-trip travel time from one hour to 30 minutes. It also made traveling more comfortable with the commuters, especially to those who ride habal-habal, as the before bumpy road turned into an even lane),” Alvaro said.

Despite its good result, however, the RAEB team noted a 32 percent increase in hauling cost and 15 percent decrease in household income from farming.

PSO South Luzon M&E Specialist Arvin San Juan cited inflation, high fuel cost, increased rate of labor, an ordinance setting load limit on ten-wheeler trucks, and low demand for copra as causal factors.

The team also identified issues and concerns which include existing damages in some portions of the road, frequent road accidents caused by repairs made on the scaled road, and higher hauling and labor cost due to the enforcement of the aforementioned municipal ordinance.

The RAEB results were presented to the PLGU officials and will be submitted to the PRDP management for their feedback that may aid decision-making on adjustments and better approaches to make Project efforts and interventions more sustainable. ### (Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-RAFIS V)

The PRDP NPCO M&E team assists their PSO South Luzon and RPCO-Bicol counterparts in data checking and processing after conducting the household surveys.

The M&E team from PRDP NPCO, PSO South Luzon and RPCO Bicol conducts household surveys to gather data for the Rapid Appraisal of Emerging Benefits (RAEB) of the Rehabilitation of San Isidro to Pag Oring Nuevo FMR on April 23-24, 2019.

The M&E team from PRDP NPCO, PSO South Luzon and RPCO Bicol conducts household surveys to gather data for the Rapid Appraisal of Emerging Benefits (RAEB) of the Rehabilitation of San Isidro to Pag Oring Nuevo FMR on April 23-24, 2019.