According to the DA, this project serves as an offshoot or continuation of the completed R. Ecleo–Upper Laguna FMR, which traverses Barangays Ma-atas, R. Ecleo, and Laguna in Cagdianao town, has benefited 794 households, 777 of whom are farmers of cassava and other priority crops.
A&M Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Barangay Mahayahay in San Jose town is engaged in buying fresh cassava tubers from cassava growers and processing the crops into granules, which will then be delivered and sold to cassava value-chain players like the Fatima Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Ormoc, Leyte.
This cooperative, as a direct beneficiary of the FMR, felt the benefits of the project were the ease of transport of the crop from the farmers to the market.
Cherryl G. Alpar, secretary of A&M Multi-Purpose Cooperative, narrated the gaps filled and addressed by the presence of DA-PRDP’s farm-to-market road in the province.
“Sa wala pa nakarsada ang Upper Laguna, lisod jud ug dugay ang among traveling time sa pagkuha sa kalibre kay lubak-lubak man gud ang kalsada. Gikan sa warehouse almost one hour kapin, ug isa ra ka biyahe ang mahitabo sa isa ka adlaw, unya maka-karga ra mi ug 1,000 tons nga kalibre,” Alpar said.
[When there was still no road in Upper Laguna, transporting the cassava was really hard, and travel time was long since the road was rough. From the warehouse, it would take almost an hour, and we could only travel once a day and carry a maximum of 1,000 tons of cassava.]
“Karon nga naa nay kalsada, dool na kaayo mi sa mga farmers, makabiyahe nami ug kaduha sa isa ka adlaw ug maka-karga ug 4,000 tons nga kalibre taga biyahe,” she added.
[Now that there is a cemented road, we're very close to the farmers. We can travel back and forth in a day and load up to 4,000 tons for each trip.]
With another FMR to be constructed in the province, Alpar shared that more farmers are now motivated to plant cassava and have requested the cooperative to pick up their crops, which has widened and expanded the market and business of the group.
