The Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) has set aside about P968 million for the 19 subprojects in Davao de Oro, the project reported.
In a press release Monday, DA-PRDP said seven of the subprojects worth P255 million were completed, six of them infrastructure facilities and a subproject in enterprise and agricultural productivity.
However, it added that some of the subprojects are still in the middle of implementation and were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 19 subprojects, 14 are infrastructure projects amounting to around P935 million and five enterprise subprojects worth around P33 million.
Of the 14 infrastructure subprojects, 10 were farm-to-market roads (FMR) worth P670 million and measuring 53.71 kilometers, two FMR with bridge with a combined length of 12.61 kilometers and 219 linear meter worth P231 million, one potable water supply worth P6 million, and one other infrastructure facility worth P26 million.
On the other hand, the five enterprise subprojects include Tablea Processing and Marketing Enterprise worth P1.7 million in Maragusan which is already completed; Village Level Rubber Processing and Marketing Enterprise worth P4.06 million in Monkayo; Enhancement of Cardava Banana Consolidation and Marketing Enterprise worth P3.91 million in New Bataan; Cow’s Milk Processing and Marketing Enterprise worth P14.78 million in Nabunturan; and Enhancement of Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) and By-Product Processing and Marketing Enterprise worth P9.17 million.
Beneficiaries of these projects expressed their gratitude for these projects especially the FMR for improving their way of living while recalling the challenges they faced before the rehabilitation and concreting of Brgy. Pangutusan, Nabunturan – Brgy. New Alegria, Compostela.
“Before, what constituted our road was the pathway of carabaos that carry our produce. The road was muddy and the depth would reach our knees since there was no decent road before. It would take three days before our palay could pass through the thresher and transporting it to the market (in Nabunturan) would really take days.But now, the market and our farm are very accessible,” said Peter Jumigop of Barangay Gabi Compostela.
Raul Bogani Sr., a rice farmer in Brgy. Magading also shared his thoughts about the changes. “Our barangay is one of the barangays included in the road influence area of the PRDP project. Now that our road is already concreted, we no longer pay for hauling cost. The buyer’s’ vehicle can now reach our farms and collect our produce by the side of the road unlike before where we used to pay P15.00 per sack.”
The project said it expects the fast-tracking of project implementation will resume after the government lifts the lockdown.
