Farm-to-market roads undergo appraisal, review in AgNor
The SPAR, jointly facilitated by the National Project Coordination Office (NPCO), the Project Support Office (PSO) Mindanao, and the Regional Project Coordination Office XIII (RPCO 13), was conducted to ensure that the proposed subprojects comply with Department of Agriculture (DA)-PRDP guidelines, as well as to ensure consistency between each subproject’s engineering designs and the actual project sites.
RPCO 13 rural infrastructure specialist, Rhidge L. Berdera emphasized the SPAR as a crucial step in getting the subprojects approved as it allowed implementing partners to address issues and recommendations raised by DA-PRDP before the proposals would undergo technical review.
“The SPAR revealed the need for three Cs in their proposals: consistency, correctness, and completeness of data. For our part in the social and environmental safeguards (SES) unit, we have to ensure that all possible impacts from the subprojects will already have corresponding mitigating measures,” says NPCO SES officer Roan M. Nuelan.
The three subprojects, which was proposed under the PRDP Scale-Up, are as follows: the Pirada – Payas FMR with bridge in Cabadbaran City, the San Isidro – Baraas FMR with bridge and the Mahayahay – Zion Libertad FMR with bridge, both located in the municipality of Kitcharao.
Melly Alejandro, part of the board of Ddrectors of the Manhon Agriculture Cooperative (MACO) in Barangay Del Pilar in Cabadbaran, admitted that the lack of concrete FMR has made it difficult to find larger markets for their agricultural products. The high transportation cost has become a deterrent, leading them to sell some of their products exclusively within nearby communities.
The proposed subprojects will have to undergo a joint technical review and deliberation from the Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB) before they can be approved. Once approved, the FMRs will connect to agricultural production areas in Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte and Cabadbaran City. (Nichole L. Talatala, DA Caraga/PIA Agusan del Norte)
