The World Bank and European Union visited the on-going farm-to-market road (FMR) in Malalag, Davao del Sur during the 15th WB-EU Implementation Support Mission in Mindanao on April 18, 2023.

The P103 million “Rehabilitation of Ibo-Pitu, Malalag FMR” is a 5.99 kilometer road that is funded under the World Bank’s second additional financing and European Union Co-Financing grant with the Provincial Local Government Unit of Davao del Sur, and Municipal Local Government of Malalag.

During the visit, the support team conducted walk through inspection of specific segments where ground clearing and road preparation are being done and inspected documents pretinent to the construction of the FMR such as their progress reports.

During the community consultation, subproject beneficiaries from three barangays of Brgy. Ibo, Brgy. Bulacan, and Brgy. Pito had a dialogue with the project partners who gave some recommendations and comments to ensure the successful implementation of the Project.

Brgy. Bulacan Brgy. Captain Alberto Bragat thanked the World Bank, the European Union, DA-PRDP, and the Local Government Unit for the road concreting subproject that will help them provide ease in transporting their agricultural products from their farm to market.

“We are very thankful in Brgy. Bulacan that you gave us this project that we have waited for a long time,” said Bragat. “We are expecting for a good result because the Citizen Monitoring Team created by the Project can now help I. monitoring the implementation. Soon, we will have a better access for transportation.”

The road project also created employment opportunities among the residents in three barangays with residents being hired by the contractor as part of their workforce as skilled and unskilled labor workers.

The FMR is the first EU-funded project by Davao del Sur and is targeted to benefit the mostly indigenous people’s communities in the three barangays in the road influence area. (Joy Montecalvo, PSO Mindanao)