Filtered By: Money
Money

Bukidnon farm-to-market road to cut farmers' costs


The municipality of Kibawe and the Mindanao Rural Development Program are putting up the money to rebuild a 2.78-kilometer, farm-to-market road to lower the transportation costs of farmers in Barangay Natulongan. For the road project, Kibawe shelled out half of the P9.09- million project cost with the development program shouldering the other half, the Department of Agriculture said I n a statement. The municipality is inviting contractors to bid for the project. The bids will be opened this July 15. “With better roads, we can preserve the quality of our produce and avoid bruises or mishandling during transportation. Thus, we can command premium price for it," the department said, quoting a resident of Natulongan. “This road project is seen to reduce transportation cost and cut travel time by 45 minutes. It is also expected to increase farmers’ income by 20 percent," said Edwin Mulat, Kibawe’s municipal engineer. "We will continue to partner with LGUs which are willing to invest in infrastructure development to increase agriculture productivity," Lealyn Ramos, the program director, said. “We all know that agricultural infrastructure projects are expensive but they are extremely necessary if we bat for better production and improved income for farmers. Our program offers 50 percent of the project cost in infra projects like irrigation, bridges and roads," she added. Poor road conditions in Kibawe, Bukidnon made it impossible to transport crops especially during the rainy season. It also made transportation and hauling costs too expensive, the Agriculture Department said in a statement Thursday. A study by the municipality showed that the road vital to at least five agricultural sitios producing rice, coconut, corn, banana, and high-value crops. Central markets are five kilometers away from Natulongan farms and farmers are charged at least P15 per sack to bring their produce to the nearest market. –MR Gavin/VS, GMANews.TV

LOADING CONTENT