FARM-TO-MARKET ROAD. Currimao residents led by town mayor Gladys Cue rejoice as the farm-to-market road (FMR) was officially inaugurated on June 23, 2019. The PHP52-million FMR is funded under the Philippine Rural Development Project. (Photo courtesy of John Dave dela Cruz)
LAOAG CITY -- A PHP52-million farm-to-market road was inaugurated in Currimao town on Tuesday to improve the living conditions of rural communities.
Led by outgoing town mayor Gladys Cue and Regional Director Lucrecio Alviar Jr. of the Department of Agriculture, a five-kilometer FMR located along the Tapao-Tigue-Poblacion 2-Sta. Cruz and Lang-ayan villages is now officially open following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site on the same day.
Funded under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) with the DA as lead implementing agency, Alviar has lauded Currimao officials and their people for supporting the project.
Cue said residents are “lucky” to have this project which will primarily benefit mango growers in the area along with rice, corn and tobacco farmers, among others.
Based on its feasibility study, the FMR project will also reduce transportation cost by 15-20 percent; reduce travel time up to 50 percent; convert 80 hectares to new agricultural land within the first 10 years; and increase the area of agricultural land by 40 hectares annually for the succeeding years.
Over the years, a Lang-ayan resident like Glenda Acapuyan said their hardship to transport their commodities, especially during the rainy season which turns the road muddy.
“I am so thankful for the road concreting project. It is now a lot convenient for us to transport our products,” she said.
Acapuyan is among the more than a thousand residents in Barangays Tapao-Tigue, Poblacion 2, Sta. Cruz, Lang-ayan, Monte, and Sta. Rita who benefit from the construction of the road project.
Meanwhile, the outgoing mayor also led the blessing of the town’s PHP5-million sanitary landfill and evacuation centers in Comcomloong and Tapao-Tigue, and small water impounding project which costs PHP5 million. (PNA)
