Magsaysay, Davao del Sur—Just in time for the 52nd town anniversary here, the Department of Agriculture in Davao Region, through the Philippine Rural Development Project, handed over on Tuesday the P140.8 million worth of farm-to-market road project to the municipal government.
The 12.384-kilometer road rehabilitation project connects barangays Barayong-Mabini-Bala and Upper Bala.
The project is expected to increase the household income of the residents and provide better access both to the people and their products.
DA-11 Director Ricardo Oñate said the project will facilitate access for the development and enhancement of the whole value chain of the commodity from input provision, farming processing to marketing.
“With this, providing better road access to these barangays will definitely open opportunities both to the farmers and the investors,” he added.
Most of the economic activities existing in the recipient barangays are buy and sell either within the barangays that serve as cluster consolidator.
The main markets are either in Poblacion, Kiblawan, Bansalan, Digos, Davao City, and General Santos City.
Aside from its dominant crop, which is banana, the project will interlink with other commodities like rubber, rice, mango, abaca, cacao, coconut, corn, and vegetables.
Mayor Arthur Davin thanked the DA for the road rehabilitation, urging the beneficiaries to take care of the project.
“Take care of the project and be appreciative of what the government has been doing for the general welfare of the majority,” Davin said.
The DA-PRDP partners with the local government units to provide key infrastructures and facilities to raise incomes, productivity, and competitiveness of the farmers and farmers’ associations in targeted areas.