Negros Oriental gets P317 million FMR road

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) turned over a P317-million farm-to-market road (FMR) to the local government of Negros Oriental earlier this month, which is seen to spur economic development in the surrounding areas.

The 18.5-kilometer Hilaitan to Trinidad FMR in Guihulngan City has a total project cost of P317.74 million.  It is expected to benefit farmers engaged in rice, corn, root crops, vegetables, native chicken, livestock and sugarcane, among others.

DA-Philippine Rural Development Project  Support Office Visayas deputy project director Jose Albert Barrogo said the turnover “also means handing over the responsibility of maintaining the FMR by allocating maintenance funds, and implementing measures on the speed limit and load limit of vehicles.”

Meanwhile, DA-Regional Field Office (RFO) 7 officer-in-charge regional executive director Joel Elumba encouraged farmers to maximize the use of the completed FMR by flaunting higher farm production yield.

“Barangay Trinidad has great potential for agricultural development. I am asking the farmers to make concrete plans and intensify the production by using the FMR, agricultural technologies, and agricultural inputs provided by the DA,” he said.

The FMR is seen as the biggest solution not only in terms of transportation, but also uplift the living conditions of the people, improve livelihood, and even address the issue of insurgency in the area.