Facade of Sarangani Provincial Capitol
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The provincial government of Sarangani is pushing for the development of an upland village in Maasim town as a prime agribusiness area.
This, as the local government is targeting the completion early next year of the nearly PHP57 million farm-to-market road leading to an agricultural production area in the coastal municipality funded under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).
Gerald Faciol, assistant provincial administrator, on Thursday said the implementation of the road concreting project is underway, covering at least 4.59 kilometers of the provincial road from Barangay Kanalo to Barangay Nomoh in Maasim.
He said the project, which broke ground last July 17, is among the priority infrastructure initiatives in the province that were approved for implementation this year under the PRDP.
It will benefit at least 875 households or 4,077 residents comprised mostly of indigenous peoples and cover an area of 1,185 hectares between barangays Kanalo and Nomoh, he said.
“This will be a catalyst for development, not only in terms of potential for agriculture, but it will be easier for the government to deliver social services,” Faciol said in a statement.
The provincial government proposed to the PRDP the project's funding March last year and was approved two months later.
The local government started the preparatory groundworks last month after receiving a second No Objection Letter or NOL for its rollout.
PRDP, which is supported by the World Bank, approved a grant of PHP45.588 million for the project and with a counterpart of PHP5.698 million from the provincial government.
Faciol said the PRDP, which is implemented by the Department of Agriculture, considered the project to help further develop the thriving abaca farms in Barangay Nomoh.
He said the area also hosts coconut, corn, banana and coffee farms.
"Despite being productive in terms of agriculture, the transportation of crops (to the markets) has been quite difficult because of the rugged and bumpy dirt roads," he said.
Faciol said Nomoh and its outlying sitios can only be accessed by motorcycles, known locally as "habal-habal."
But most of the time, he said local farmers "bear the burden of carrying their own products."
The Kanalo-Nomoh road project was approved by the PRDP under the Intensified Building up of Infrastructure and Logistics for Development or I-Build component.
In the last three years, at least seven infrastructure sub-projects worth PHP244.172 million have been completed under the PRPDP in parts of Sarangani.
It comprises 22.49 kilometers of farm-to-market road and a 1,700-square meter support facility, benefitting around 42,000 residents.
Six more projects, covering 32.02 kilometers of farm roads and a 32.12-square meter support structure worth PHP358.13 million, are currently under the implementation stage. (PNA)
