Bohol is set to rehabilitate a road that aims to spur the development of communities covered by the reconnected link to agricultural areas and markets. The P608-M farm-to-market project will pave the 12-kilometer stretch of road that traverses seven barangays in Calape and Antequera towns. (RAHC/PIA Bohol)
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) – The Department of Agriculture (DA) recently led the groundbreaking for the 12.6-kilometer farm-to-market road (FMR) as part of the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Desamparados, Calape to Tabuan Antequera road project.
The project consists of standard five-meter concrete farm-to-market roads and four bridges.
Implemented under DA’s Provincial Roads Development Project (PRDP), total funds for the road upgrading and rehabilitation project is P608,913,111.50.
The funds come from the P487,130,489.20 share of the World Bank loan, and P62 million as the national government counterpart.
“The single biggest project of the PRDP to date, the project is the Government of the Philippines grant to Bohol for a 20 percent equity,” said Lawyer John Titus Vistal, Bohol planning and development officer.
To date, PRDP has extended over P2-B in funds for farm-to-market road projects in Bohol.
The Philippine government had contracted a loan with the World Bank for the construction of PRDP projects in the country.
The project looks at agricultural value chains to see how it can improve access to markets through its FMRs as a way to improve farmers living conditions and the economy of the general area.
Calape-Antequera FMR
Within the area traversed by the road-upgrading project are 1925.9 hectares of existing farms and agricultural production areas, and 1697.45 hectares of potential production areas.
The project would mean more agricultural development for the 23 barangays covered by the project catchment area now that they can easily access agricultural services.
“It is not just the Boholanos but all the Filipinos who would be paying for this,” said Bohol Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado during the groundbreaking ceremony at Brgy. Desamparados, Calape town.
The road project that traverses the barangays of Desamparados, Ulbujan, Labuon, Binogawan, Cabudboran and Cabayugan in Calape town to Tabuan in Antequera will also see the construction of three timber bridges and one concrete bridge that would be refurbished.
“It is good that we have this project. Because we at the Provincial Engineer’s Office could hardly maintain that road. The rotting timber bridges could not even support our maintenance crew dump trucks,” said Bohol Provincial Engineer Camilo Gasatan, Jr.
The road project is set for completion by May or June in 2027. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)
