Residents in the upland communities of Barangay Kanalo and Barangay Nomoh in Maasim, Sarangani Province waited for many years before finally seeing a concreted road constructed in their area.

The “Concreting of Kanalo-Nomoh Farm-to-Market Road” subproject officially started in 2019 and is now at 90.04% completion. The realization of this project is a fulfillment of the dreams of many farmers and residents living in the area.

Barangay Councilor John Dexter Demoso recalled their difficulties before especially during rainy days where students would go to school with shoes covered with muds and where farmers would suffer damages to the crops they were supposed to deliver. Demoso also recalled having a few vehicular accidents caused by the muddy and slippery road.

“Things are a lot better now for the farmers,” said Demoso. “With the construction of the road most of the farmers here bought their own motorcycles and vehicles to transport their products directly to the market. Students and teachers here can now go to school with ease in clean shoes and uniforms.”

The existence of the concreted road in the area also open many doors of opportunities for the farmers. Unlike before when the farmers relied only on those traders who would come to their barangay to buy their products, they now have more freedom and choices as to where they can deliver their products. There is also reduction in post-harvest losses as a result of faster and smoother transportation of agricultural products.

Danilo Acal who used to live on the hilly part of the community shared how he had to endure long walks while carrying heavy loads of farm produce just to bring them to the nearest loading station in Brgy. Nomoh.

“I used to live far from here and it would usually take me more than an hour to bring my products to Brgy. Nomoh because I had to load them in a sack and carry all of that to where they load the trucks which became worse when it rained,” said Acal.  “With this road project, it’s a lot easier now because the road is concreted and accessible to many vehicles.”

Part of the development objectives of this FMR subproject is to reduce travel time by 60% from 45 minutes to 20 minutes from Junction National Highway to Purok 4, Brgy. Nomoh; increase traffic count by at least 87% from 66 vehicles to 125 vehicles; reduce transportation and hauling cost; reduce post-harvest losses; increase newly developed agricultural land; and to generate employment within the road influence area.

Jimwell Nomoc, one of the beneficiaries of the project who was hired to work for the construction said that he benefited from the project not just as a project recipient but as part of the workforce.

“I used to work in another company before. But when I returned here, this FMR project from DA-PRDP provided us with another source of income. Residents are given priority to work as part of the skilled workers in the construction of this road in Brgy. Nomoh including the indigenous peoples (IP’s),” said Nomoc.

This FMR is worth P56.59 million and benefits the 875 household where 669 of these households are farmers.

“We are really grateful to the World Bank, to DA-PRDP and to the support of our Province. This farm-to-market road is a dream come true for many of us here in Brgy. Nomoh. With this concreted road, we can now transport our products to the market and it opens more doors of economic opportunities for our community,” said Brgy. Captain Erwin Tabalao of Brgy. Nomoh.

This FMR was the IBUILD subproject presented by the Mindanao Cluster during the 11th World Bank Mission. (Joy Montecalvo | PSO Mindanao)