A 13.94 kilometer farm-to-market road will soon open and provide access to farmers and residents alike of Damulog, Bukidnon.
On November 24, 2016, Agriculture Secretary Manny Pinol led the groundbreaking of the P188.41 million infrastructure project under the Philippine Rural Development Project.
Once finished, the FMR will directly benefit close to 6,000 residents including producers of various agricultural crops including rubber, corn, upland rice, banana, cassava, and sugar cane among others.
PRDP is a six-year project funded by World Bank, which calls for the partnership and collaboration of the national and local government to attain raised incomes, productivity and competitiveness in the countryside.
Pinol also awarded various agricultural and fishery assistance to thousands of farmers who attended the Agri-Forum held at the NMACLRC in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.
Together with other high ranking officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) both from the national and the regional office, the Secretary led the distribution of high-powered tractors, rice tillers, cassava graters and chippers, among others to local farmers’ groups and associations.
Ten fiberglass boats, from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, were also distributed under a 2:1 scheme (2 families to a boat) as part of the government’s obligation to provide affordable and accessible food to every Filipino.
Other inputs such as rice, corn and vegetable seeds, and fertilizers were also distributed under the Department’s national Rice, Corn and High Vale Crops programs.
Piñol, in his speech, stressed that President Duterte has given him direct instructions to provide assistance to faraway rural communities in the countryside in line with the food sufficiency commitment.
“Give to the people what is due them,” he said in his native dialect.
“My visit here is part of that commitment, and our continuous efforts to strengthen operations here in Northern Mindanao,” he added.
Piñol said that the current administration is reaching out to the Filipinos and is keen on providing assistance and needed aid to rural communities especially in the far-flung areas.
Earlier during the day, the Agri chief led the groundbreaking ceremony for the three-story building of DA which will rise on a one-hectare lot donated by the late Boy Tan, Mayor of El Salvador City.
“The building will signify the presence of the Agriculture department here in your region which remains to be a sustainable source of various agricultural produce,” he said.
During the ceremony, Pinol declared that aside from the P203-million budget allotted for the said infrastructure, he will be allocating an additional P100M for the construction of a one-stop shop laboratory that can test animal and plant diseases.
“This will also give farmers access to solutions to common problems within the animal industry,” he said.
The laboratory according to Piñol, expected to be established in 2018, will house everything a farmer needs including water and soil analysis, and plant analysis, among others. ### (oda rodriguez/DA-AFID)
