“With 85% physical accomplishment to date, the Improvement of Bulanao-Amlao Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) in Tabuk City, Kalinga will soon be completed,” said Provincial Agriculturist Engr. Domingo A. Bakilan during a training held recently in the City.

Bakilan added that once the road has been completed, side structures still needs to be constructed including the provision of road signage.

The 15.8-kilometer FMR is funded and implemented under the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) with a project cost of P180, 281,000.00. It will support the coffee industry in the province and put an end to the long time problem suffered by the local residents in transporting people, goods, and products to and from the market.

Engr. Orlando Panabang, PRDP assigned Rural Infrastructure Engineer said that side structures such as slope protections, drainages, and the rectification of defects need to be completed and complied prior to the final inspection of the project.

Along with the FMR, the Kalinga Coffee Trading Center (KCTC) located at Bulanao, Tabuk City will be turned over to six (6) farmer cooperatives as Proponent Groups (PG) of the Kalinga Integrated Coffee Processing and Marketing Enterprise, a subproject under the PRDP’s I-REAP (Enterprise Development) component.

The trading center will be used for the consolidation and marketing of coffee green beans from the PG members of the Enterprise.

“Before the year ends, we hope to turn over all the goods and processing equipment needed for the operation of the Enterprise and the KCTC in time for the next harvest season,” said Jocelyn Beray, PRDP Regional Project Coordination Office – CAR I-REAP Component Head.

Under the PRDP, the province of Kalinga has recently turned over the first FMR completed in CAR which is the Banneng-Gombowoy FMR in Tanudan.

Meanwhile, the Improvement of Catabbogan-Wagud FMR in Pinukpuk is also ongoing with a physical accomplishment of 37% as of May 2018. Three more proposed enterprise and infrastructure subprojects are yet to be approved for implementation. ### (ELVY TAQUIO, DA-PRDP RPCO-CAR InfoACE Unit)