TACLOBAN CITY – Construction of six infrastructure projects worth about P536.29 million under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Scale Up is now in full swing, the Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office said.
The infrastructure component of the project PRDP is mostly farm-to-market roads designed to help in transporting farm products to commercial centers, hence raising the income of families in farming communities, Jonas Buhay, DA-PRDP infrastructure component head, said.
These projects are the P157.19-million Paa-Imelda Marcos-Tambis farm-to-market road (FMR) in Hilongos, Leyte; P153.82-million Cambaguio to San Andres FMR with bridge in Villareal, Samar; P57.43-million Magsaysay to Somoroy FMR in Bobon, Northern Samar; and the P53.84-million Ambao-Amaga FMR in Hinundayan, Southern Leyte.
The non-FMR project is the P114.01-million Baybay City Barangay Water System Project in Leyte. The project will provide an intake box, a four-unit reservoir, a multimedia filtration system, over 48 kilometers of pipelines, and over 400 communal tap stands.
These facilities and equipment are estimated to supply water to around 2,300 households or over 8,400 people. Of which, over half are farmer and fisherfolk families.
“Most projects will be completed within 2025, while big projects such as those in Villa Real, Samar, and Hilongos, Leyte, are targeted for completion in 2026. We are attributing the timely completion to the collaborations of local government units and meticulous planning throughout the approval process,” Buhay told the Philippine News Agency.
More than 20 projects in Eastern Visayas have been completed under PRDP with investments that ensure long-term results.
“We make sure that every investment is carefully evaluated for its long-term effects on society and the economy. We want the projects to benefit communities for many years to come, in addition to finishing them,” he added.
The PRDP-Scale Up is one of the flagship programs of the Department of Agriculture designed to address the gaps in the commodity value chains by improving the efficiency of the food supply chain towards greater connectivity, mobility, accessibility, availability, and affordability of food in the market.
(with reports from Desiree Daga & Allysa Verzosa, OJT/PNA)
