By Ahlete C. Reyes
TACLOBAN CITY, Sept 7 (PNA) — The P56 million worth of farm-to-market road projects in Leyte’s Second District are up for bidding in October by the 2nd Leyte Engineering District (2nd LED).
These farm-to-market road projects, according to 2nd Leyte Engineering District Engineer Carlos Veloso is through the funds of the Department of Agriculture to help farmers reduce transportation cost of their produce and increase their yield.
Recipients of the project are various barangays in Leyte’s second district with each barangay allotted a P2 million budget.
Veloso said the office is presently fasttracking preparation of programs for the projects and targets to conduct the bidding by October.
One of these farm-to-market roads identified to receive the funding is the Malobago-San Roque-Canip-Canhandugan gravel road which will be concretized.
These road projects in Leyte’s second district are expected to spur development in the area with easier and faster transport of farm products produced by the farmers in the area to markets.
“It’s long overdue. We still have a number of farm-to-market roads which are still gravel roads. It’s about time these get concretized,” Veloso said.
As part of DA’s climate-change adaptation, the specifications standard of farm-to-market roads would now be five meters in width and six inches in thickness, with 1.5-meter extension on both sides of the shoulder.
Before, the DA’s standard for farm-to-market roads is four meters in width and six inches in thickness, with 1.5-meter extension on both sides of the shoulder.
The road projects will improve mobility and reduces travel time and transportation cost of goods of farmers which will eventually increase economic activities in the rural areas of the region.
Investments in rural infrastructures such as farm-to-market roads is likewise seen to boost efforts towards full recovery of the region from typhoon Yolanda particularly in terms of bringing back more resilient food production base and improving the living conditions of the people living in the countryside. (PNA)