DA earmarks P120M for farm-to-city roads

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture-7 has allocated P120 million to spur more development in Cebu City’s farm-to-market roads.

City Agriculturist Joey Baclayon said the concreting projects in city’s mountain barangays will be imple-mented early next year, adding that bidding for the P120 million worth of roadwork is ongoing.

He said the amount covers the concreting of 12-kilometer road in Agsungot, Adlaon, Pamutan and other identified upland barangays in north and south districts of Cebu City.

Baclayon stressed that the road is expected to spur development in the area and increase the income of farmers with easier and faster transport of farm products to markets in the city proper.

Also, DA-7 has given around P1 million each for the farmers associations in city’s south and north districts to procure two units of hauling trucks to easily transport their crops. The agency, however, required the city a 15-percent counterpart to augment the amount.

Moreover, the city government has allocated millions of pesos for road concreting projects in the mountain barangays to give more access to the residents there to facilities in the urban areas and vice-versa.

Road concreting with drainage system projects are presently undertaken in the northern and southern mountain barangays, costing the city P377.2 million and P219.6 million, respectively.

On top of this, the city’s Department of Engineering and Public Works has also proposed P200 million in the 2015 Annual Budget, also for the farm-to-market roads.

Baclayon assured that there would be no duplication of infrastructure projects because the appropriated budgets were already earmarked for specific barangay roads.

The P200 million would include concreting of streets in Barangay Tabunan to Tagbao, Mangabon to Lusaran, among others.

He said that concreting of one kilometer of road is equivalent to a cost of P10 million.

Training

In a related develop-ment, at least 30 farmers in Sitio Sip-ak, Barangay Sudlon 1, Cebu City will graduate on the first week of November after 16 weeks of training.

This after the Cebu City government has introduced farming techniques and technologies to the farmers to have a better harvest.

Tata Tumulak, city agricultural technologist, said one of the technologies taught to the farmers is the plastic mulch which is used to suppress weeds and conserve water during harvest.

Tumulak said the city government has been doing the initiative to assist the farmers in the barangays of Sirao, Babag, Taptap, Agsungot, Guba, Cambinocot, among others.

She said they provide organic and inorganic fertilizers to the farmers, adding that they also help farmers in marketing their products.

Mayor Michael Rama and his department heads visited the hilly lands yesterday.

“This (tour) to our demo farms is a long overdue…this is to feel that it is not about lowland. Life (upland) is so beautiful, soothing and the environment is clean… That life would be so meaningful if we will give some time with the farmers,” he said.

Rama said the beauty of agriculture lands in the mountain barangays should be preserved and nurtured because it can be introduced as part of eco-agriculture tourism.

“Ang emphasis nako is making farm-to-market roads, water irrigation, making the farmers not be abused by the middlemen,” he said.

Rama and the department heads visited a flower farm, a demo-farm and other areas in the mountain barangays of Babag, Sudlon 1, Sudlon 2 and Taptap.

Maria Isidra Abatayo, 42 of Sitio Tabla, Barangay Sudlon 1, said she is grateful of the training because she has learned new things which she could apply in her farm.

Abatayo said she owns a three-hectare farm with sweet corn, tomatoes, ginger and other crops.

“Mas maayo na karon kay dako gyud kaayo sila’g ikatabang namo kay wala man mi sa una ani, pareha atong plastic kay dako siya’g ikatabang nga maka-save pud mi,” she said.

She said she is applying what she learned in the training. She sells her crops in Carbon Public Market and in their barangay.  (FREEMAN)