The Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) will soon have its second farm-to-market road (FMR) in the province of Batangas.

In July 10, the local government of San Luis, Batangas held a groundbreaking ceremony for the “Rehabilitation of FMR at Brgy. Calumpang East and West,” which signals the construction of the subproject.

During the activity, Mayor Danilo Medina acknowledged those who devoted their land and properties to give way for the project.

The 1.6-kilometer road amounting to P21.54 million will benefit the project affected persons and other individuals who regularly use the current unpaved lane.

In spite of being only five-kilometer away from the town center, the two barangays are still largely agricultural areas.

From the combined 750 households of the two barangays, 53 percent or 400 households are involved in agricultural activities.

The FMR subproject was proposed through the gap seen in the value chain analysis for coconut and was included in the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan of Batangas. Sugarcane and cassava are two other major crops in the area.

Upon the subproject’s completion, residents working in nearby commercial and industrial complexes will save at least 43% of their travel time as it will serve as an alternate route of motorcycles, cars, and trucks from farms to existing and potential markets.

It will also help in reducing both the hauling and input costs of coconut from P15/kg to P14/kg and from P23/kg to P20/kg for cassava. For the sugarcane’s hauling cost, it will lessen from P0.90/kg to P0.70/kg and decrease its input cost by P10/kg (P75/kg to P65/kg).

Through the paved road, farmers and traders will see lower transport losses from ten percent to five percent for both coconut and cassava and from three percent to two percent for sugarcane.

To guarantee smooth project implementation, a pre-construction conference was also held for the local government of San Luis, barangays, and the winning contractor. ### (Lawrence Albert Bariring, DA-PRDP CALABARZON RPCO InfoACE Unit)

Road condition during site visit last 2018. (Photo courtesy of GGU)

Contract of signing between the municipal government of San Luis and the winning contractor was also included in the groundbreaking ceremony. Mayor Danilo Medina represented the local government. (Photo courtesy of Reynaldo de Leon)

The San Luis LGU, PRDP, and other stakeholders bury a time capsule on the site of the FMR subproject. (Photo courtesy of Raffy Damati, Rural Infrastructure Engineer)