PRESERVING RICE TERRACES. Ifugao governor Jerry Dalipog shares the benefits of the road projects under the Department of Agriculture's Philippine Rural Development Project in Banaue, Ifugao during the turnover on Oct. 13, 2022. Dalipog said building these roads will encourage residents to reside in resettlement areas and will avoid building houses on the heritage rice terraces which will help in their preservation. (PNA photo courtesy of DA-PRDP)
BAGUIO CITY – Ifugao Governor Jerry Dalipog said building three road projects closer to the communities will encourage residents to reside in resettlement areas and will avoid building houses on the heritage rice terraces which will help in their preservation.
"Aside from serving as an access road for people between the service communities, and in the delivery of farm inputs and products, the road projects have a secondary purpose. The roads help resettle people away from the rice terraces to appropriate settlement areas," he said in a statement Monday.
Dalipog said residential houses are now congested along the roads and are even built along the rice terraces.
The projects including the 4.96-kilometer Junction-Alimit-Nattum farm-to-market road (FMR) worth PHP140.52 million located in the municipality of Mayoyao; the 4.6-kilometer Viewpoint-San Fernando FMR costing PHP124.81 million; and the 8-kilometer Anaba-Ducligan-Banao FMR worth PHP245.63 million implemented under the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP), were officially inaugurated and turned over to the local government last Oct. 13.
Both Banaue and Mayoyao have several rice terraces declared by United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as heritage sites.
He said that if rice terraces are maintained and used as intended, Ifugao can expand its rice production areas and help reach the country's rice sustainability goal.
Dr. Cameron Odsey, regional executive director of the DA in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and the chairman of the PRDP regional board, said "PRDP projects are determined by the community and the local government who both have responsibilities to take in the projects."
In a phone interview, Odsey said projects proposed under the PRDP undergo a thorough evaluation based on their impact on agriculture and the people that will benefit.
He also cited the track record of the proponent local government unit which does not just share in the finances but also help in assuring that the project is completed on time and within the standards required.
"They just continue the good job they do and the DA will support them,” he added. (PNA)
