The Department of Agriculture in the Caraga Region (DA-13) reported the near completion of the PHP187-million farm-to-market road (FMR) that will connect far-flung villages to the market centers including in Cortes town, Surigao del Sur.

In a statement, Grace Grado of the Municipal Project Management Implementing Unit (MPMIU) of DA’s Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) said the project is already 98.96 percent complete and expected to be turned over to the local government of Cortes “soonest”.

The road project has a span of 14.33 kilometers and would benefit some 1,172 farming and fishing households.

“The FMR will surely translate to better production of agri-fishery commodities in this part of Cortes,” Grado said.

She said the project covers 4,537 hectares of influence area and would directly benefit the six barangays in Cortes populated with 5,346 individuals who are involved in coconut farming and fishing.

Grado said that the intervention of DA-PRDP in the area will support agricultural production and help uplift the living condition of farmers and fishermen.

In the same statement, Vicente Malingin, a farmer from Barangay Tuburan, one of the villages in Cortes, said the project will directly benefit residents in the area who currently experience difficulties in transporting their farm products to the market.

“We thank the government for helping us farmers through this project,” Malingin said.

Grado said the PHP187-million FMR will support the agriculture sector in six barangays by giving new opportunities and additional livelihood to augment their income.

She added that the municipality of Cortes is also a recipient of five units of all-weather dryers worth PHP4 million that will benefit five farmers’ associations.

“The infrastructure component of DA-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,” Grado said. (PNA)