DAR turns-over P68.9-M infra project NoCot town

CARMEN, North Cotabato -- Farmers can now bring their produce straight to the market without any delay or difficulty after the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) turned-over infrastructure project amounting to P68.9 million on Thursday.

Engr. Reynaldo Anfone, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II (PARPO), said the project, which includes the rehabilitation of 9.029 kilometer farm-to-market road with bridge covering barangays Cadiis and Macabenban, is a sub-project under the Mindanao Sustainable, Agrarian, and Agriculture Development (MinSAAD) Project.    

“We understand the predicament of our farmers in bringing their produce to the market during harvest time, most especially during rainy season. Most of the time, difficult roads may increase transportation cost that burdens our farmers,” Anfone said.

Now that the Cadiis-Sitio-Libertad-Sitio Negan-Marani-Baroyon farm-to-market road were completely rehabilitated and with the construction of Negan bridge, Anfone said, farmers will no longer worry traversing the bumpy and slippery roads going to the market.

Norola Aliudin, Cadiis village chair, said that the thought of bringing their harvest to the nearby market center was worrisome for the farmers because of the poor road conditions.

“In Cadiis, we have more or less 5,463 hectares of agricultural land while our neighboring barangay, Macabenban, has more or less 11,561 hectares planted to different agricultural crops. With these data, we could expect volume of agricultural produce that need to reach the market,” Aliudin said.

With the project given to them, Aliudin is hopeful that farmers will be encouraged to produce more food and plant more crops such as cacao, coffee, coconut, and rubber which will contribute in uplifting the lives of his constituents.

“We are grateful for entrusting the maintenance of the project to us. We assure you that we will take good care of it by planting trees along the road side, especially those in the sloppy portions to prevent erosion,” Aliudin said.

During the turn-over ceremony, Carmen Mayor Moises Arendain, North Cotabato Vice-Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, Third District Congressman Jose Tejada also showed their support for the maintenance and sustainability of the project.

The turn-over ceremony was also attended by MinSAAD Project Manager Eduardo Suaybaguio, PARCCOM Chairman Elizabeth Moneva, Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer (MARPO) Loida Blanco, MARPO Cheryll Camariñas, MARPO Ma. Elene Alegata, and some personnel of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The project was implemented by the DAR in close collaboration with the DPWH and the Local Government of Carmen.