At least 74 percent of the total land area of Candelaria in Quezon is dedicated to agriculture, yet poor road condition in the municipality hinders the farmer-residents’ productivity.

Poor roads, particularly in the Barangays of Sta. Catalina Norte, San Isidro, Kinatihan I, and Kinatihan II, contribute to increased post-harvest losses and high hauling costs, which lessen the take-home income of farmers in the area.

The four barangays, which make up 32.33 percent of the total agricultural land of Candelaria, are on its way to development with the P93-million worth farm-to-market road (FMR) funded by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP).

The 12.48-kilometer “Improvement of Sta. Catalina Norte–San Isidro–Kinatihan II–Kinatihan I FMR” infrastructure development (I-BUILD) subproject of PRDP is projected to benefit at least 20,005 individuals and 3,334 households in the said barangays.

The rural infrastructure engineers of the PRDP South Luzon PSO and CALABARZON RPCO inspect the compliance documents of the “Improvement of Sta. Catalina Norte–San Isidro–Kinatihan II–Kinatihan I FMR” subproject. (Photo by Ana Francesca Chavez, DA-PRDP South Luzon PSO InfoACE Unit)

Goodbye rough roads

“Siguro tumanda na ’yong mga dating residents dito, ’di man lang talaga sila nakakatikim ng concrete road (The former residents here may have grown old not experiencing a concrete road),” Candelaria Municipal Engineer Marilyn Autor said.

According to Brgy. Sta. Catalina Norte Councilor Herman Valle, the new road will not only benefit the residents of their barangay, but of the nearby barangays as well. He recounted that the rough road used to be muddy, especially during rainy seasons.

“Ito po ngayon ay sementado na kaya napakalaking pakinabang, unang-una na po ang Sta. Catalina Norte (Now, this road is concreted and it is a big advantage, first and foremost to [Brgy.] Sta. Catalina Norte),” Valle added.

The PRDP-funded FMR will cater to the farmers of priority commodities such as coconut, rice, corn, and vegetables which are abundant within the road’s influence area.

Valle also shared the situation of farmers with the rough road. He said, “Bihira po ang masasakyan. Bihira rin [ang] nagsasakay kasi nga po mahirap din ang daan at saka malaki po ang cost ng transportation. Kaya maliit lang po ang kinikita ng ating magsasaka (There are limited vehicles. Very few vehicles also serve as cargo vehicles, due to the poor road and high transportation cost. That is why our farmers only earn a small income).”

The new FMR primarily aims to reduce the input and output hauling cost by 10 percent from P20 to P18​ per sack​, and reduce the transport losses of primary crops by up to three percent​ per year. It is also projected to lessen the travel time by 56 percent from 18 minutes to 8 minutes from the farms to the market centers.

Social benefits

According to Engr. Autor, the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Candelaria is fortunate to implement this big-ticket project. Unlike with the fund support of PRDP, she said that the LGU only used to fund the concreting of 100-meter road projects.

She added that while the new FMR primarily benefits the farmers, it is also beneficial to the rest of the community in general as it makes transportation more convenient especially for the residents with emergencies.

PRDP is a six-year intervention assisted by the World Bank and implemented as a national project of the DA to establish a modern, inclusive, value chain-oriented, and climate-smart agriculture and fisheries sector. ### (Gumamela Celes Bejarin, DA-PRDP South Luzon PSO InfoACE Unit)

Brgy. Sta. Catalina Norte Councilor Herman Valle shares to the PRDP InfoACE team how the new FMR will benefit the residents, especially the farmers, in their barangay. (Photo by Ana Francesca Chavez, DA-PRDP South Luzon PSO InfoACE Unit)