by Ram Bill G. Bautista, RPCO3 Writer

The Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB) approved the Aurora provincial government’s proposed improvement of the 3.75-km Salay-Kadayakan farm-to-market road (FMR) which connects the towns of Dipaculao and Maria Aurora. The RPAB, composed of representatives from relevant national government agencies, convened to deliberate the proposed subproject at the DA Regional Field Office III Building, City of San Fernando, Pampanga on September 26, 2024.

According to the subproject’s feasibility study, the total road influence area covers 581 hectares—546 of which are agriculture area used for the production of coconut and rice. The FMR’s influence area covers five barangays benefitting almost 400 households including 95 farming households.

Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority, the province of Aurora is the top producing province of coconut in Central Luzon with a production volume of more than 210,000 metric tons or 94.2 percent of the total regional production in 2020. However, the regional value chain analysis of coconut identified the poor conditions of FMRs as one of the constraints in the industry.

Furthermore, the Expanded Vulnerability and Suitability Assessment (E-VSA) for coconut in the province showed that the municipality of Maria Aurora ranks first while the Dipaculao ranks fourth most suitable for coconut production and vulnerable to natural and socio-economic conditions.

The existing Salay-Kadayakan road’s condition, mostly gravel and earth road, makes it unpassable to most vehicles needed to easily transport the farmers’ produce. The improvement of the FMR would support not only farmer’s production and marketing activities but also daily activities of the residents in the area.

The RPAB members signed a resolution for the approval and endorsement of the subproject for the issuance of a No Objection Letter 1 from the DA-PRDP National Project Coordination office.

The PhP109-million FMR subproject is the second to be approved by the RPAB for funding under the DA-PRDP Scale-Up in Central Luzon with the cost sharing scheme of 80% from the World Bank loan proceeds, 10% from the National Government, and 10% from the Aurora LGU. PRDP Scale-Up is the expanded version of the DA’s flagship program supported by the World Bank since 2014. ###