A total of P968.88 million has been poured into the province of Davao de Oro to fund the 19 subprojects implemented under the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP).

Out of 19 subprojects, seven (7) are already completed amounting P255.72 million with six (6) completed I-BUILD subprojects and one (1) I-REAP subproject, while the remaining subprojects are still on process or in the middle of implementation.

There are 14 infrastructure subprojects worth P935.26 million comprised of 10 farm-to-market roads (FMR’s) measuring 53.71 kilometers worth P670.60 million, two (2) FMR’s with bridge with a combined length of 12.61kilometers and 219 linear meter worth P231.44 million, one (1) potable water supply worth P6.46 million, and one (1) other infrastructure facility worth P26.76 million.

Beneficiaries of these projects expressed their gratitude on how the farm-to-market road positively affected their way of living.

Peter Jumigop of Barangay Gabi Compostela recalled the difficulty of their lives before the rehabilitation and concreting of Brgy. Pangutusan, Nabunturan – Brgy. New Alegria, Compostela Farm-to-Market Road.

“Before, what constituted as our road was the pathway of carabaos that carry our produce. The road was muddy and the depth would reach our knees since there was no decent road before. It would take three days before our palay could pass through the thresher and transporting it to the market (in Nabunturan) would really take days.But now, the market and our farm are very accessible,” said Jumigop.

They could finally see the difference as Raul Bogani Sr., a rice farmer in Brgy. Magading narrated the changes he experiences.

“Our barangay, is one of the barangays included in the road influence area of the PRDP project. Now that our road is already concreted, we no longer pay for hauling cost. The buyers’ vehicles can now reach our farms and collect our produce by the side of the road unlike before where we used to pay P15.00 per sack,” said Bogani.

Meanwhile, the five (5) enterprise subprojects worth P33.62 million include the following subprojects: Tablea Processing and Marketing Enterprise worth P1.7 million in Maragusan, which is already completed; Village Level Rubber Processing and Marketing Enterprise worth  P4.06 million in Monkayo; Enhancement of Cardava Banana Consolidation and Marketing Enterprise worth P3.91 million in New Bataan; Cow’s Milk Processing and Marketing Enterprise worth P14.78 million in Nabunturan; and, Enhancement of Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) and By-Product Processing and Marketing Enterprise worth 9.17 million.

The fast-tracking of project implementation is expected to resume once the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 will be lifted by the national government. (Joy Montecalvo)