Agriculture intervention through the Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) is set to boost the production of agri-fishery commodities in Cortes, Surigao del Sur through the concreting of 14.33 km Poblacion–Manlico–Uba Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) amounting to P187 million.

The road concreting project which had its groundbreaking ceremony last May 26 signals the start of the project that will cover 4,537 hectares of influence area and would directly benefit a total of 6 barangays and 1,137 farming and fishing households.

Most of the residents in the barangays have grown old not experiencing a concrete road. “The rough road used to be muddy, especially during rainy seasons. Very few vehicles comes in our area which also serves as cargo trucks”, said Chairman Vicente Malingin of Barangay Tuburan. “Due to the poor road condition, farmers have to spend P2000 for the transfer of their goods to the market”, he added.

Other than its rich aquatic resources, farmers are now eyeing the opportunity to expand production areas for cassava and cacao.

 “FMR primarily benefits the farmers, it is also valuable to the rest of the community in general as it makes transportation more convenient,” said Mayor William Angos.

During the kick-off activity, DA-PRDP Team also conducted a pre-construction conference where salient information about the project is discussed with the residents in the community including proper handling of conflicts using PRDP’s Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM).

“Everything is properly explained to us through the pre-construction conference. Our queries are addressed and the contractor has committed to hiring workers from our barangay”, said Chairman Manny Atillo of Barangay Capandan. “This project is different, the LGU and government agencies make us feel important”, Atillo added.

Regional Executive Director Abel James Monteagudo also urged Cortesanons to continue working with the DA. “We can see the potential for agri-fishery development and productivity in the municipality. Continue to cooperate with us”, he said.

The Infrastructure Component of the PRDP aims to put in place strategic and climate-resilient rural infrastructure facilities along the value chain of a particular commodity to achieve its maximum value and increase the profit of the players in the industry. (Fretcher D. Magatao, DA-Caraga)